`MERRY WIVES' HITS THE ROAD

Artistic director Robert Dillon gives instructions to members of the cast of "The Merry Wives of Windsor" during rehearsal at the Rose Theater.

Set a classic Shakespearian comedy in modern-day Lake of the Ozarks, add an experienced cast and top it off by taking the show on the road, performing in settings as diverse as opera houses and a parking lot.

That's what the Southeast Missouri State University Summer Touring Theater plans to do with their production of "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

Ellen Dillon, the play's managing director, said that despite the apparent obstacles to a smooth performance, she's confident the show will be one of the theater company's best.

"This is going to be a good production," she said. There's no way it can fail."

The play centers on the classic battle of the sexes. Sir John Falstaff, played by Doug Powers, is the obese, braggart knight, who thinks of himself as an indisputable ladies man.

Despite Falstaff's mistaken belief that the Merry Wives are merely gullible country folk, he is outwitted by them, and they subsequently turn the tables on Falstaff in hilarious ways.

The play was penned by Shakespeare in the late 16th Century and remains one of his most popular. It has been adapted to modern-day life by Robert Dillon, artistic director of the summer touring company.

Set in the fictitious town of Windsor near Lake of the Ozarks resort, the play will be performed, beginning in mid-June, in eight towns in Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and Kentucky.

The play's theme centers on the empowerment and liberation of women and the intelligence and resourcefulness of country folks, two familiar Shakespeare themes.

Other cast members include Kara Cracraft as Mistress Page, Jeff South as Master Ford, John Clippard as Master Page, Ellen Dillon as Mistress Ford and Orlinda Lusher as Mistress Quickly.

Most of the action takes place on the backyard decks of the Ford and Page family homes and in the woods nearby.

The play first will be performed in Cape Girardeau June 13 and 14. From there, the show will be taken to Malden, Perryville, Ste. Genevieve, Charleston, Dyersburg, Tenn., and Sesser and Murphysboro, Ill.

The Cape Girardeau shows will be at the Forrest H. Rose Theatre on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University. Tickets will be available at the door and are $3 for Southeast students, faculty and staff and $4 for the general public. Curtain time is 8 p.m.

Times vary for shows in other towns and tickets will be available at the door.

Most of the 11-member cast are veteran actors and actresses from the university's theater department. Others are professionals.

Lusher, who plays Mistress Quickly, is an actress and theater teacher from Denver, Colo. She performs regularly with the Denver-based improvisation group, "Group Therapy," which has toured with the Department of Defense visiting military bases around the world.

Lusher also conducts improvisation workshops and has performed in plays and commercials in the Denver area.

Ellen Dillon (Mistress Ford), is another guest artist for the summer touring company. She formerly worked as an actress in New York City and now teaches acting in Southeast's theater department.

Additional student cast members are Jamie Weiss, Dan Akre, Jay Cross, Alden Field and Abbie Crites.

"The Merry Wives of Windsor" is geared to an adult and late teen-age audience. Props will be few and costumes will be present-day.

"It's quite a wonderful experience, especially for the students," Ellen Dillon said. "They will have to adapt to each different audience, and that's a real challenge."

On some stops on the tour, the group won't be performing in a theater at all.

"We're going to Perryville for the first time this year, and we'll be performing in a parking lot," she said. "In Sesser, we'll perform in an opera house. It's really like an adventure."

Dillon said taking the troop on the road is a draining, but worthwhile experience. "It's a great learning experience, but it's not easy," she added.

The Summer Touring Theatre has been performing for about five years.

But due to funding shortages, Dillon said this summer's season might be the company's last.

"There is no way we can do it again if we don't get more funding," she said. "We almost had to fold last year, but decided to just bite the bullet and go on."

She said corners already have been cut substantially, with actors and actresses doubling as the crew. Although paid for their work, none of the actors will become wealthy from the meager salaries, Dillon said.

"Right now they are working for less than what they could be making if they worked at McDonald's," she said. "And we don't want to have to charge communities a lot of money to come and perform in their town.

"Our goal is to receive more money from the university, but when there are money problems, the first thing to go is usually the arts."

Dillon said she would hate to see the summer program discontinued, because it reaches many communities in the area and often attracts students to the university.

"It shows that this is a liberal arts college," she said. "And any student, regardless of their major, can audition for a theater department production."

Cracraft said there have been actors and actresses involved in the department who have never taken a theater course.