The Merry Wives of Windsor

Two smart and lively women make a fool of the old fat knight, Sir John Falstaff, and teach one husband about the futility of unfounded jealousy. “We'll leave a proof, by that which we will do—wives may be merry, and yet honest too."

Here is a detailed synopsis of Merry Wives on Wikipedia.

For those of you who provide parts a scene at a time, this Character Chart shows all the characters' lines in each scene: The Merry Wives of Windsor

If your group reads the plays straight through in one sitting and you want to divide up the parts, we have a number of “cast” lists already divided up for you. These are text files that you can edit to suit your group. We always recommend in a straight-through read that each participant take a moment beforehand to mark their parts—then everything proceeds so smoothly.

This is one of only three plays in which Shakespeare apparently invented the plot instead of rewriting an existing story. There are prominent references to the Most Noble Order of the Garter, the highest order of knighthood and one founded in 1348. Honi soit qui mal y pense.

 

This is an audio recording of the play by professional actors with sound effects: