‘Merry’ times at Chicago Shakes
When Barbara Gaines directed her 2004 production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, she set the play, dubbed “the first situation comedy,” in autumn, in a New England town where the last-gasp efforts of some middle-aged males (including the irrepressible Sir John Falstaff, who pursues two wealthy local women) generate chaos and laughter.
For her current version of the play (running Dec. 3-Jan. 14), Gaines is returning to the real England. It is the late 1940s — after all the darkness and calamity of World War II — and the sound of swing music and the effervescence of swing dancing is in the air.
As Gaines noted: “There is something so undeniably hopeful about the songs of that period, as England worked to shake off the impact of the war. And the music reflects the heart and soul of our merry Windsor [a model of middle class life in Elizabethan times].”
Gaines tapped choreographer Harrison McEldowney to guide her cast.
“The idea is that the music pours out of a radio, or is being hummed by pedestrians,” said McEldowney, who is using recordings devised by sound designer Lindsay Jones and music director Doug Peck. “There is a moment young lovers dance to ‘Coax Me a Little Bit,’ a wonderful tune that was sung by the Andrews Sisters. Toward the end of the show you’ll hear Ella Fitzgerald sing Harold Arlen’s ‘Hooray for Love.’ And to prepare the actors, I had them watch film clips from ‘Stage Door Canteen” and ‘Swing Time.’ ”
Tickets: (312) 595-5600; chicagoshakes.com. — Hedy Weiss