Before television, radio, and film, the stage was America's popular amusement. There was a time when tours allowed audiences in every corner of the growing nation to see first-hand the most famous performers of the day. What they acted were often the period's greatest hits, restoration tragedies or comedies of manners. His plays soon became a recognizable feature of American culture not only through the legitimate stage but also, as a testament to their success through mockery and caricature. Merry Wives of Windsor is a Shakespeare comedy. The play concerns the efforts of Sir John Falstaff to obtain financial advantage by courting two wealthy married women, Mistress Ford and Mistress Page. The merry wives are not interested in the ageing, overweight Falstaff as a suitor, but for the sake of their own amusement pretend to respond to his proposals. At one point Falstaff is forced by a jealous husband to hide in a laundry basket and is thrown into the river. Eventually his scheme is revealed and he is held up to ridicule, but the play does end happily, with the marriage of Mistress Page's daughter.
             The play was staged in a courtyard theater. A courtyard theater is a theater centered around the spectators. The theater was illuminated, and well set for the audience to see. Center of the stage consisted of an immense, revolving, house made of wood. The reverse side of the house enclosed a living room on the first floor and a bedroom on the second. In addition, the house exterior and interior appeared as old English type, parallel to the setting of the story. The setting of the stage is suitably matched with the plot of the story. The play also incorporated clothing from early England, which added prettiness to the play. The setting overall corresponds distinctly with the Shakespearean play.
             In a Shakespeare comedy, performing is largely significant as the setting. Without a scintillating performance by the ...