So...Who Are The Merry Wives of Windsor?

This took a little bit longer than I expected.  Essentially there are 19 principal roles, with three of them going to children.  Figuring out the relationships and what makes the characters tick is a time consuming process.  Especially when there are 6 principals who do not have a lot of lines but a lot of stage time.

So let's dig right in and get to the cast breakdown. 

Falstaff.  A fat, disgusting buffoon who lives to drink, eat and be merry.  He has fallen on hard times, and decides to woo the two housewives in order to stay well fed, drunk and loved.  He is not above flirting with any woman who crosses his path, but none find him physically attractive.  He is, however, as funny and witty as he is passionate and slovenly.   An adept comedian that can carry off physical comedy as well as witty word play; the audience must have an immediate rapport with him and be on his side.  Adult role.

The Fords and the Pages

Frank Ford.  One of the two middle class husbands of the play.  He has been largely inattentive to his wife Alice, but once he hears that she may be carrying on with the fat Falstaff, he becomes almost insane with jealousy.  He disguises himself as a man named Brook so that he may get closer to Falstaff and learn of his plans.  A good physical comedian with terrific facial expressions, he's the king of the slow burn.  Adult role.

George Page.  The other gentleman of Windsor.  Page trusts his wife implicitly and finds the whole possibility of an affair with the fat Falstaff to be as ludicrous as it first appears.  He would be the voice of reason of the play except that he is insistent that his beautiful daughter Anne marry the fey Slender.  Adult role.

Meg, Alice and Mistress
Quickly

Meg Page.  George's wife, it's her idea to trick Falstaff.  Few personality traits separate the two women from each other, though she does seem to be more of the Ethel Mertz of the pair.  She and her husband trust each other, though she wishes for her daughter Anne to marry the French doctor Caius.  Adult role.

Alice Ford.  Frank's wife.  She feels neglected, and wants her husband to feel some passion for/towards her.  She takes the principal roles in the "seductions" of Falstaff.  Adult role.

Mistress Quickly.  A funny, frank and loveable broad.  Perhaps not the most learned of women, she is sharp as a tack.  She's also a girl who can't say no.  She is helping Dr. Caius, Slender and Fenton woo Anne.  She is helping Mistresses Page and Ford trick Falstaff.  She even "helps" young William Page with his schooling.  Adult or mature teen role.

Justice Shallow, Sir Hugh

and Slender

Justice Shallow.  An old and very bitter friend of Falstaff.  Falstaff has owed him money in the past, and as the play starts, Shallow is angry because Falstaff has killed a deer on his property.  Shallow is also intent on getting his nephew to marry someone, and who better than the beautiful Anne Page.  Adult role.



Sir Hugh Evans.  A Welsh parson who is responsible not only for the spiritual guidance of the Windsorians but also the education of their children.  His Welsh accent is strong, thick and lends itself to much mockery.  He has a good head on his shoulders and tries to keep the peace as all parsons would.  Adult or mature teen role.

Slender

Dr. Caius.  A French physician who is obsessed with marrying Anne Page.  He is every horrifying French stereotype with liberal dashes of pomposity thrown in for good measure.  His French accent is strong, thick and lends itself to much mockery.  He doesn't have a good head on his shoulder, as he is ruled totally by the passion of the moment, even so much so that he fences with his young servant, much to his/her chagrin.  Adult or mature teen role.  


Abraham Slender.  Shallow's not very bright nephew who is being forced to woo and marry the beautiful Anne.  I think he'd be far more interested in Fenton.  The breakout role of the script, he was the second most popular character with Elizabethan audiences.  Perhaps because they had never before seen so reluctant a lover of such a fine beauty on stage.  Teen or young adult role.



Fenton.  Anne's suitor who actually gets to marry her.  He is absolutely love struck.  He is desperate to marry the young woman, and has asked Mistress Quickly to help him.  Teen or young adult role.

Anne and Fenton





Anne Page.  George and Meg Page's beautiful daughter.  There is an argument to be made that she is not so eager to marry Fenton as much as she just wants to get out of the Page house and away from her controlling parents.  Teen or young adult role.

 
Hostess of the Garter.  The proprietor and chief confidant of the Garter Inn.  The Hostess knows no enemy, and goes out of her way to mend any severed relationships.  When she meddles in the duel between Dr. Caius and Sir Hugh, they play a trick on her.  Adult role.

Bardolph.  The drunk in Falstaff's coterie.  He stays loyal to him, but it may just be because he wasn't aware the others left.  Adult or mature teen role.
 

Pistol and Nym

Pistol.  The smart-ass in Falstaff's entourage.  He is always quick with a sarcastic and cutting remark.  When Falstaff "fires" him, he immediately goes to tell Ford and Page of Falstaff's plan to seduce their wives.  Adult or teen role.

Nym.  Called "the Mars of malcontents" by one of his comrades, he is an old, sour man who is difficult to like.  All of Nym's lines contain the word "humour".  Adult role.

Robin.  Falstaff's page.  Of the three young "servants" of the show, the most trustworthy and able.  Robin knows his master is a fool, and is completely happy to be away from him when loaned out to the Pages.  Could be played by either a boy or a girl.  Child role.

Dr. Caius, Simple and
Mistress Quickly

John Rugby.  Dr. Caius' young servant who is forced to fence with him.  Rugby wants nothing to do with this.  Could be played by either a boy or a girl.  Child role. 



Robert Simple.  Slender's servant who gets thrown in closets (not with Slender) and has to do his master's bidding much to his chagrin.  He's not the biggest fan of Slender.  Male child role.

William Page.  The Page's youngest child.  He has one scene with Sir Hugh, Mistresses Page and Quickly, where he goes through his schooling.  Could be played by either a boy or a girl.  Child role.

Servants.  Two or three servants in the Ford household that have lines.  They deal with Falstaff and the buck basket.

There will be at least two non-speaking ensembles in the show; one for teens/adults (dinner guests and other servants) and one for teens/children (dinner guests and fairies at the end).  The adult chorus may have to dance; the children's chorus will have to sing and dance.

There may be a third adult/teen woman chorus of "workers" at the Garter Inn depending on the final decision of the setting.  If this chorus exists, they will undoubtedly dance.