OJAI FESTIVAL IS GREAT FOR LAUGHS.Byline: Victoria Giraud Special to the Daily News The 14th annual Ojai Shakespeare Festival will conclude this weekend at Libbey Bowl with performances of the wildly funny comedy ``The Merry Wives of Windsor.'' Also on the bill, as an appetizer, is the slapstick slapstick Comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to farce ``The Numb-skull of Normandie,'' adapted from Moliere. If your derriere can hold up to the hard, wooden benches with backrests, bring a pillow and attend both. A two-hour intermission between the plays allows for picnicking, socializing and entertainment by talented youths known as Commedia dell'Ojai and the melodic Measure for Measure Renaissance Voices. ``Numb-skull of Normandie'' was adapted by Susan Kelejian from three one-act plays by Moliere, the classic French playwright. Reminiscent of television's ``Laugh-In,'' the short play offers fast-paced, colorful, nonsensical comedy. Its physicality is suitable for children. ``The Merry Wives of Windsor,'' a tale of young romance and attempted seduction Seduction See also Flirtatiousness. Selfishness (See CONCEIT, STINGINESS.) Armida modern Circe; sorceress who seduces Rinaldo. [Ital. Lit.: Jerusalem Delivered] Aurelius Dorigen’s nobleminded would-be seducer. , is one of William Shakespeare's funniest plays. Its characters can be seen as the models for 20th century sitcoms  The perspective and/or examples in this article do not represent a world-wide view. Please [ edit] this page to improve its geographical balance. and remind us that comedy has a timelessness about it, whether it's television's ``I Love Lucy'' or Shakespeare's Ford and Page families mixing with Falstaff and his cronies. Young Ann Page (the charming Sarah Meaney) is eligible for marriage. She loves the romantic Fenton (Chris Palmquist), but her father (Patrick Sullivan) wants her to marry the silly but rich Slender (a comic gem by Jennifer Brown). Her mother, Mistress Page (dynamically rendered by Victoria Hargreaves), favors the Frenchman, Dr. Caius (a hilarious performance by Larry Novikoff). The stout and jolly Falstaff (a robust and stimulating performance by Geoff Foley) romantically pursues, with identical love letters, Mistress Ford (the entertaining Carol Jones-Potter) and Mistress Page, both married ladies. The two women compare letters and vow to punish Falstaff. Clueless clue·less adj. Lacking understanding or knowledge. clueless Adjective Slang helpless or stupid Adj. 1. Falstaff doesn't stand a chance, He's duped but comes back for more. Besides the vengeful women, he's got Master Ford, an extremely jealous husband (the very animated Alexander St. John), after him. Falstaff ends up being thrown into a river, mistaken for a witch and beaten. In the end, while the young lovers succeed in running off to marry, he is tricked into coming to the forest and crowned with a deer's horns, to be ridiculed by all. Some other performances of note are by Jonathan Arkin as Sir Hugh Sir Hugh is Child ballad 155. Synopsis Some boys are playing with a ball, in Lincoln. They accidentally throw it over the wall of a Jew's house (or castle). The daughter of the Jew comes out, dressed in green, and beckons to a boy to come in to fetch it. Evans, Rodman Casselberry as Shallow, and Jaye Hersh as Mistress Quickly Mistress Quickly refers to either of two characters in plays by William Shakespeare:
see dairy herd. are very funny and include Carla Aiello as Nym, Samantha Free as Bardolph and Vincent Ugolini as Pistol. The talented Mario Perez The Cuban artist Mario Perez, born June 17, 1943, emigrated to the United States as a teenager and has focused his artistic career primarily on documenting the pre-war Havana of his youth, noted for his urban landscapes often recreated from memory. plays the slow-witted and comic Simple. Other roles are performed by Richard Goad, Robert Kincaide, Kelsey Hersh, George Miller George Miller may refer to:
THE FACTS WHAT: Ojai Shakespeare Festival, featuring ``Merry Wives of Windsor'' by Shakespeare and ``Numb-skull of Normandie'' adapted from Moliere by Susan Kelejian. WHEN: Today, Moliere at 6 p.m., Shakespeare at 8 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, Moliere at 5 p.m., Shakespeare at 8 p.m. WHERE: Libbey Bowl in downtown Ojai, across from The Arcade shopping district. COST: $7 to $15, depending on day and age. INFORMATION: (805) 646-9455. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Zoe Pietrycha and Russell Seveny are among the actor s at Ojai in a comedy adapted from Moliere. Michael Owen
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