HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance Times, 1995-06-14, Page 16•
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INE WINCUAM AMINICPTIMES
June 1147
ARIES - March 21/April 20
Home life can be more cheerful if
you take on a more positive attitude.
,A little' effort on your part will go a
long way. A dispute over money
could turn into a major battle if
yqu're not careful. Best to delay
financial discussions. A work situa-
tion will be improved.
TAURUS - April 21/May 21
Romance will be the source, of both
joy and aggravation this week. When
things get bad, don't let it get you
down. Remember, nothing good
comes easily. Keep emotions out of
the business place or you're likely to
make a very poor judgement call.
This is especially true on Wednesday.
GEMINI - May 22/June 21
A busy schedule will keep you on
your toes throughout- the week.
Although you thrive when you are on
the go, you do need your rest, too. An
important decision will weigh heavy
on your mind throughout the week.
Trust your instinct and you'll make
the right choice.
CANCER - June 22/July 22
A good week for travel, especially
last-minute excursions. Don't curb
spontaneous moments. go with
them. Midweek, you'll find your=
self in the right place at the right
time and a unique opportunity could
fall into your lap. Act fast or it will.
pass you by.
LEO - July 23/August 23
Watch your spending this week. A
spur -of -the moment shopping spree
could put you in the poorhouse. A
friend's problem could end upbeing
yours, too, if you're not careful.
Although you pride yourself on
being a good friend, loyalty does ,
have its limits.
VIRGO - Aug 24/Sept 22
A desire for . something new and
exciting may produce a major dis-
traction from your work. Instead of
fighting it. give in and have some
fun. You'll be glad you did. A hidden
talent may surface and take you
and others - by'surprise. Maybe you
should consider a career change.
LIBRA - Sept 23/Oct 23
Leave yourself extra time if 'you're
working on an important project. The
more you put into it, the more you'll
get out of it. A troubling situation
you've faced, at home turns out to be
a.blessing in disguise. You'll see why
by the week's end. You'll discover a
flaw in someone you thought was
perfect.
SCORPIO - Oct 24/Nov 22
Don't let a family argument get you
down. Be patient and over time
things will smooth out. Check state-
ments and bills as costly errors could
surface. There may be an ulterior
motive to an unusual invitation. A
friend's actions may be the source of
disappointment.
SAGITTARIUS -Nov 23/Dec 21,
A livelier -than -usual. social life will
keep your spirits high this week.
You'll feel more interested - and
more interesting - than you have
for some time. Be realistic when
planning out your budget or you will
end up feeling like you're in a finan-
cial prison.
CAPRICORN -.Dec 22/Jan 20
Someone you thought of as young
g Y g
and inexperienced does something to
change your view. An old flame may
try to contact you about a non-ro-
mantic issue. If you put your emo-
tions to the side, you won't be disap-
pointed. At work, learn from your
mistakes.
AQUARIUS - Jan 21/Feb 18
Leave financial dealings and minor
purchases for another week. This is
no time to be making large invest-
ments. Single Aquarians may find
new romance when they Last expect
it. Relationships started now will be
of the lasting kind. Family obliga-
tions will be greater than usual.
PISCES - Feb 19/March 20
Think twice before making plans that
involve travel. Unless you have time
to kill, you'll probably find it to be a
waste of time. The actions of a friend
will surprise you. You'll realize that
you really don't know someone as
well as you thought. Curb spending
this weekend.
YOUR BIRTHDAY THIS WEEK
The next 12 months:
Overseas travel will be a big part of
the year's activities. especially if you
are pursuing a new career or are still
in school. The key to success for you
will be to accept change with open
arms. By resisting, you will only hurt
yourself. A friend you make during
early fall could have a significant
impact on your future. A stage of self
improvement this winter will have
ng things you never thought
you re capable ,of. You're certain
to feel better about yourself. A stroke
of luck in the spring will help you out
in many ways - especially .finan-
cially. Be open to new ideas and
you'll go far.
FOR ENTERTAINMENT PURPOSES ONLY
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 14, 1995
Stratford opens with Merry Wives
Hutt too clean and genteel to. be bawdy Falstaff
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z9
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CLUES ACROSS
. Stone worker
5. Small piece,ot ground
8. Lounger
P..Blockhead
I0..The same
t I . Punitive
12 Footwear
15. Serve
17. Raw
18. Preserve dead ,body
20. Breeze
• 25. Corn
26. Pulsate
27. Cancel
28 Praise
29 Restaurant car
30. Abode of the.dead
CLUES DOWN
I. Slimy
2. Artist's workplace
3. Snappy
3. Lean
5. Church dignitary
6. Wig
7. Bisected
13. Garment border
14. Limb
15. Fuss
16. Religious sister
17. Mountaineer
18. Delighted
19. Sterile
21. Pressed
22. Bores
23. Essential
24. Demise
ScIBEr+6i.:a SkS„ .:...,..:},....v... );tit.,•
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By Ruth Tatham
Stratford Festival is open again,
and it started off with a great treat:
The Merry Wives of Windsor, on
the main Festival Theatre stage.
William Hutt is the grand old
man of Stratford, indeed of Cana-
dian Theatre. I heard the other day
that he was 75 - well, his hours
of acting as Falstaff in Merry
Wives were carried off with the en-
ergy and fun of a man 15 to 20
years younger. He makes a lovea-
ble, jolly and sweetly pathetic Fal-
staff - and a corpulent, if never
grossly fat one.
He is, however, far too clean
and considerably too genteel to be
the bawdy, filthy, repulsively old
lecher whom
Shakespeare wrote
into several of his plays. But, we'll
take the Hutt "Sir John" any day.
He is a dear, and captivates all, on
stage and off.
The top acting plaudits in this
staging go to Tom McCamus in
the role of Frank Ford. As the al-
most psychotically jealous hus-
band, Ford is difficult to respect,
and well-nigh impossible to like.
He is so stupidly wrong, so blindly
suspicious, so righteously rabid,
that an audience can easily see him
only as a parody.
But Mr. McCamus's portrayal is
credible, involving and so unified
the onlooker can almost (but not
quite) see why he is so suspicious
of his wife. When Ford disguises
himself as Master Brook to de-
ceive Falstaff into helping him test
his wife's fidelity, the new persona
is undeniably attractive to the au-
dience, and this attractiveness
makes him easier to forgive and
believe when he finally is ' con-
vinced of his error.
Stratford newcomer Chick Reid
creates a lively, cute little Mistress
Page,. and she is balanced by an-
other steady . performance by
Wayne Best as her husband - the
play's good and sensible husband
and a foil for the ridiculous hus:
band, Frank Ford. George Page is
the Well-to-do, middle-class, de-
pendable, salt -of -the -earth man,
who makes a fine husband and a
concerned father.
Together, the Pages have pro-
duced . the too -good -to -be -true
daughter, Anne Page, who is
wooed by three suitors simultane-
ously.
The Merry Wives of Windsor
circles around the shenanigans of
the two sprightly wives, Mistress
Page and Mistress Ford (played
delightfully by the vivacious Dixie
Searle, also new to Stratford.) Old
Sir John Falstaff fancies himself
quite the attraction to the ladies; as
usual, he is flat broke, addicted to
drinking sack and fond of a good
tuck -in.
The state of his purse necessi-
tates a new cash flow. He realizes
that both Page and Ford are quite
well endowed financially and lib-
eral with their wives, who are,
great spenders and close friends.
What better way to solve his penu-
ry than to lure the wealthy matrons
to his (supposed) sexual treats, and
restore his self-esteem in all ways
at the same time?
The fly in this ointment, is that
he is a laughing -stock to the La-
dies. They would find him repug-
nant if he were. not such a comic
old fool, so they trick bim, play
games with him and lead,him..,on to
believe they, especially Mistiess •
Ford, find. his proferred sexual
charms alluring.
The mechanics of their tricks
and the comedy of Falstaff s "co-
meuppances" form . "otie main
theme of the plot.
In the end, an enlightened and
chastened tattery and feeble old
Falstaff realizes he is a joke but
that he is so loveable the wealthy
people will • pay bis keep just tO
have the dear old thing around.-
the charm they find in 'him is a
simple, naive pleasure. [tot unlike
owning a"nice dog or being related
to cute child. •
The other plot theme is, the woo-
ing and winning of the beautiful
Anne Page. Her deeply interested
father, George Page, sees, the well-
to-do young dandy, (Abraham
Slender, as being s9cially of the
right sort and tempei)mentally
quite easy to accept. Sletlder, who
wanders through life sighing fatu-
ously for the young lady, could be
quite happy with any ' suitable
bride aril agrees with Ns uncle;
Justice Robert Shallow, that Anne
Page will do nicely:
Behind the scenes, tate busy-
body Welsh parson, Sir Hugh
Evans, is using the r$rii ltonial
planning to divert Justice Shallow
from a quarrel with Falstaff,
whose (Falstaff -directed) compan-
ions have robbed the Justice here
and there.
Anne Page is desired by the col-
orful French physician, Dr. Caius,
and although this larger -than -life
chap is only minimally more sub-
stantial than Slender, he impresses
Anne's mother as being far more
suitable husband material than is
Slender. Therefore, she pulls out
all stops to get Anne married off to
the doctor.
In her beautiful blonde head,
Anne Page has decided she cannot
love either of these fools, and she
devises a way to marry the man
she truly loves, delightful and
wealthy young Mr. Fenton. All the
little intrigues and side plots pro-
vide mirth and engrossing ,small
scenes, but we are never in any
doubt that Annie will get her
man -and she does.
Robert Haley creates a frenetic
Welsh learned -but -not -very -wise
parson, Sir Hugh Evans, who tears
around minding everybody else's
business, with no fixed purpose in
life for himself. Shakespeare's
Evans could be so caricatured that
he is a throwaway, .but Mr. Haley,
leaves us with a vivid picture,.
right down to the touching solo of
"Men of Harlech." That, by the
way, is one of the many tiny gems
introduced by music , consultant
Don Sweete: there are snatches of
Offenback, Verdi, and other famil-
iar musical tidbits, thrown in when.
the action is 'at its height, all nicely
done:
Barry MacGregor overacts as
the host of The Garter Inn, but
Barry MacGregor always overacts,
whether in Stratford' or Niagara -
on -the Lake -it is his sweet way
of being noticed, and it is rather
• like bumping into an eccentrically
charming uncle periodically. We'd
miss him if he weren't around, but
be's not the core of anything sub-
stantial. He is the standby actor for
the role of Falstaff and will be por-
traying the old rake in some of his
presentations. It would be quite in-
teresting to compare and contrast
the MacGregor Falstaff and the
Hutt Falstaff.
Stephen Ouimette has proven
himself a fine actor in previous
productions. The "by gar" French-
man, Caius, scarcely scratches the
surface of his capabilities. Look
for him in The Country Wife and
Amadeus. His cute dog, Taxi Oui-
mette, steals the show briefly in a
walk-on part.
But the highlights of this pro-
duction of The Merry Wives of
Windsor are the design and the di-
rection. Susan Benson has outdone
even Susan Benson in the glory of
the costumes, props and sets.
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