The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove

Info

A colorful, optimistic, and slightly eccentric vision of 1950s Southern California, designed in the round for New Swan Theatre Company’s outdoor musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s comedy.

Year: 2026
Company: New Swan Theatre Company
Project: Shakespeare / Musical Theatre
Location: Irvine, CA

Performers play a comic surf sequence within the Windsor Cove scenic environment.

A musical performance framed by the colorful Windsor Cove storefronts and signage.

Two performers dance in front of Shallow’s Surf Shack in Windsor Cove.

The merry wives share a scene against the layered mid-century beach-town architecture.

Johnny Falstaff performs against the surf-town architecture and upper gallery.

A comic scene unfolds at the center of the compact seaside community setting.

Two actors perform in front of a storefront arch and upright surfboards.

The ensemble gathers beneath the Windsor Cove and Shallow’s Surf Shack signs.

A balcony scene uses the two-level architecture of the in-the-round scenic design.

Notes

The scenic design for New Swan Theatre Company’s The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove was inspired by the colorful world of 1950s Southern California. Directed by Eli Simon, this musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, adapted by Anna Fitzgerald and Eli Simon with music by Zachary Dietz, transforms Windsor into a playful coastal community filled with surf culture, mid-century architecture, and California optimism.

For me, the design became a love letter to Southern California—a community and visual landscape I have grown to love. Major inspirations included Disneyland and the iconic Balboa Island Banana Stand, particularly their playful use of architecture, color, signage, and scale.

Rather than recreating a historically exact 1950s beach town, I wanted the scenery to feel like a heightened memory of one. Surfboards, nautical details, colorful signage, and compact seaside architecture helped establish Windsor Cove. Disneyland also influenced the idea that familiar architecture could be simplified and exaggerated to communicate a place immediately.

That heightened quality felt especially appropriate for a musical adaptation of Shakespeare. Windsor Cove could be colorful, slightly exaggerated, and openly theatrical. The architecture has personality, while the surfboards and beach-town details reinforce both the setting and the comedy. The resulting world sits somewhere between a real coastal community, a mid-century postcard, and an idealized California beach town.

Designing for New Swan’s outdoor, in-the-round theatre also meant creating scenery that could be understood from every direction. Rather than one traditional stage picture, the architecture establishes a community around the performers and audience. As daylight changes throughout the performance, Southern California itself becomes part of the scenic design.

Ultimately, The Merry Wives of Windsor Cove celebrates a colorful, optimistic, and slightly eccentric vision of 1950s Southern California—filtered through Shakespeare, music, surf culture, Disneyland, the Balboa Island Banana Stand, and my own affection for the place I now call home.