Windsor, Connecticut in 1957 provides the background for CSUF’s 2003 production of “The Merry Wives of Windsor.” When asked why this setting for his production, director Joseph Arnold provided some background on his decision, “Over the years, “The Merry Wives of Windsor” has been placed in a variety of settings and times. Since Royal Shakespeare Company’s landmark production of 1985, there has been an increased interest in seeing how the play resonates within the nostalgic context of the world and mores of the 1950s.” He continues, “Part of the reason for this is the nature of the play itself. It’s Shakespeare's domestic comedy about middle-class life, decidedly not set in the city, but in the comfortable suburbs of a village, and draws from the familiar staples of domestic comedy—concerns about marriage, money, appearances, sex, marrying children, and maintaining social respectability. Throw in the odd round of golf and tennis, and you are not all that far from the Windsor I knew growing up in Connecticut in the 1950s. As one critic put it, the play ‘retains a contemporary, domestic and non-aristocratic feel unique in Shakespearean drama.’”

Performing as Sir John Falstaff, Brian Rickel engages in an ill-fated romantic skirmish with two 50s housewives, Mistress Alice Ford, played by Mitra Anoushiravani and Mistress Meg Page, played by Leanne Raney. Other notable actors are Rebecca Wright as Mistress Quickly, Frank Astran as Master Frank Ford, Michael Ivans as Master George Page and April Ibarra as Jane Rugby.

Designers include: Heidi Ballard, scenic design; Bruce Goodrich, costume design; Nathan Jones, lighting design; Marcela Flores, make-up design and Matt Schleicher sound design.