SEMO SUMMER THEATRE OPENS TONIGHT

Southeast Missouri State University's Summer Touring Theatre kicks off its season tonight with a modern-day version of Shakespeare's "The Merry Wives of Windsor."

The show includes an 11-member cast made up of veteran student and professional actors and actresses.

Shows will be tonight and Friday at 8 p.m. in the Forrest H. Rose Theatre on the university campus. Tickets are available at the door and are $4 for the general public and $3 for students, faculty and staff.

The show will begin a three-week tour of Southeast Missouri, Southern Illinois and western Tennessee on Saturday with a performance in Malden. Sunday, the play will be performed in Perryville.

Other times and dates for the show are June 21 in Dyersburg, Tenn., June 22 in Charleston, June 28 in Sesser, Ill., and June 29 in Murphysboro, Ill.

The play is a new adaptation by Robert Dillon, artistic director for the summer theatre. It centers on the classic battle of the sexes. Sir John Falstaff, one of Shakespeare's most famous characters, is duped and outwitted by the Merry Wives, Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page.

Falstaff, the fat braggart knight and "man of the world," hopes to win the favors of the two wives, whom he wrongly sees as gullible "country wives."

In truth, these strong, honest, intelligent women turn the tables on Falstaff in hilarious and surprising ways. Meanwhile, their husbands also learn a lesson about underestimating the resources of the "weaker sex."

The subplot depicts the mix-ups, combats and pratfalls as three men attempt to win the hand of Anne Page.

The play is set in modern-day Lake of the Ozarks, in the village of Windsor.