SOURCE: Jones, Chris. “Lone Star Love.” Variety 384, no. 13 (12 November 2001): 36.

In the following review of the 2001 Ohio Theater production of Lone Star Love, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Merry Wives of Windsor, Jones lauds director Michael Bogdanov's adaptation of the play as “funny, melodic, and crowd-pleasing.”

About 10 years ago, an unwieldy theatrical fusion of William Shakespeare, cowpoke humor and the Red Clay Ramblers toured the Midwest under the moniker The Merry Wives of Windsor, Texas. It was a dumb bust. But conceiver-producer John Haber kept tinkering away, and thanks to the creative energy provided by new director Michael Bogdanov, the retitled, massively rejiggered Lone Star Love has morphed into a surprisingly funny, melodic and crowd-pleasing musical.

Still, it's tough to see this show on Broadway. Part of the problem is its hybrid nature. Most potential fans of a Shakespeare-centered musical are unlikely to want to hear a country score...