Merry Wives at Shakespeare Theatre Company

William Shakespeare’s farce gets a joyful spin from Jocelyn Bioh (Jaja’s African Hair Braiding), dropping the debaucherous Falstaff into the melting pot of modern Harlem. Short on cash, Falstaff pursues the purses of two sharp-witted West African wives. As their proud husbands’ suspicions rise, the wives cook up a scheme to shame the would-be homewrecker and prove that “wives may be merry, and yet honest too” in this “spirited, sharp, and silly” (Variety) celebration. Taylor Reynolds (Fat Ham) makes her STC directorial debut in the play’s regional premiere.