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EDITOR’S NOTE: Our review of “The Merry Wives of Windsor” is scheduled to be published on Thursday, April 3.

When the Denver Center Theatre Company does Shakespeare, it’s usually artistic director Kent Thompson who’s doing it. After all, he came to Denver from the Alabama Shakespeare Festival.

But he’s turning over the apron strings for “The Merry Wives of Windsor” to David Ivers, a versatile member of his acting company who is making his Denver directorial debut.

And some might say, “Gee . . . thanks?”

Scholars consider “Merry Wives” to be the Bard’s shallowest comedy; an unimportant, diversionary ditty written for the amusement of his queen. Essayist Charles Boyce called it “an essentially trivial work that does not warrant attention.”

So, David . . . No pressure, right?

“Directing itself is enough pressure,” jested Ivers, who has directing credits from Oregon to Michigan. But this lighthearted comedy of middle-class and middle-aged love has at least one significant selling point.

“It has one of the greatest comic characters ever written in Sir John Falstaff,” said Thompson.

The potbellied lech is best-known as the prince’s pal in the “Henry” histories, a vainglorious, cowardly and stunningly amoral knight. Shakespeare is said to have written “Merry Wives” because Queen Elizabeth wanted to see her favorite fat funnyman in love. Bearing that burden on his big, bad belly here will be Brian Keith Russell, making his Denver Center debut.

“There will be no mistaking him as Falstaff,” said Ivers. “But he’s younger, mid-40s, because I wanted some real vitality from him. With an older Falstaff who indulges too much in the lechery and the lasciviousness of the play, it’s too easy to write him off at the end.”

In this tale, Falstaff woos two rich, married women to get at their hubbies’ money. But his plot is foiled and the sunny spouses exact their amused revenge.

Falstaff isn’t as complex here as he is in the “Henrys,” but Ivers says he’s much more than mere comic character type.

“The entire reason I wanted a younger Falstaff is so we can investigate the small areas of the text that are about the reclamation of this man that we actually don’t write off because he’s not too old to change,” he said. “We’ve all been at that place where you meet a certain brick wall and you say, ‘I can’t continue to exist at this level.’ You have to decide, ‘What am I going to do?’ What we’re trying to reflect is that there’s a little bit of grace to his journey.”

While “Merry Wives” is the first full-bore Shakespearean comedy under Thompson, it’s hardly a one-man show. It calls for all kinds of middle- aged knuckleheads, “and this company is chock-full of middle-aged knuckleheads,” Ivers joked of an ensemble that includes John Hutton, Michael Santo, Sharon Washington, Kathleen M. Brady, Kathleen McCall, Randy Moore, Philip Pleasants and Mike Hartman.

“Merry Wives” is one of Shakespeare’s most accessible plays — Ivers says it’s 87 percent in prose, which makes for “a kind of ease on the ear.” He’s set it in the 1920s, at the British equivalent of The Hamptons (or, Ivers says, “as Boulder is to Denver”).

“The heart of the play, for me, speaks to independence, and the great brains and grace of women,” Ivers said. “We’re post-suffragette bra-burning, and the right to vote has recently become a large part of the institution of this country,” he said.

“What’s different here is that this isn’t a play about the initial discovery and test of new love,” Ivers said. “It’s an autumnal play about people who already possess it; who are married and are rediscovering what they already have.

“We often find in life that it’s typically the people who are standing in front of you, and know you and love you, who define you at your best.”

Ivers has made an indelible impression on the local boards, most often in comedies, but most hauntingly as the simple, possibly murderous brother in “The Pillowman.” He performed five roles last season alone, a record by one actor in the company’s 29 years.

It’s his challenge now “to put on a different hat inside an organization where you work and admire so many people you consider to be mentors,” he said. “Above all, I do feel an obligation to uphold the principles of this theater. That’s the benchmark.”

The trick will be not abandoning everything for the sake of the ample comedy.

“But the play does call for a lot of laughter,” Ivers said, “and we’re pretty good at laughing around here.”

John Moore: 303-954-1056 or jmoore@denverpost.com

“The Merry Wives of Windsor”

Shakespearean comedy. Presented by the Denver Center Theatre Company at the Stage Theatre, Denver Performing Arts Complex. Directed by David Ivers. Through April 19. 6:30 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays. $36-$46. 303-893-4100, all King Soopers or

This weekend’s theater openings

“The Curious Savage” A wealthy and charitable widow gives away much of her family’s wealth, to the ire of her greedy stepchildren who have her locked up. Through April 19. Gaslight Theatre, 7287 Lowell Blvd., Westminster, 720-232-7285 or .

“Defending the Caveman.” Colorado native Cody Lyman is back for another run of the one-man show that offers insights into contemporary feminism, masculine sensitivity and erogenous zones. Through April 20. New Denver Civic, 721 Santa Fe Dr., 303-309-3773 or the new denver civic’s home page.

“Dinner With Friends.” When one couple sets up another, only for it to years later fail, the first pair find that their trust in their friends — and each other — is threatened. Through April 20. Vintage Theatre, 2199 E. 17th Ave., 303-839-1361 or .

“In the Belly of the Whale.” Jonathan Bender plays nine characters in this one-man investigation into what it means to be Jewish in America today. Through April 13. At the Mizel Center, 350 S. Dahlia St., 303-316-6360 or .

“Luau for King Lear” In this Pat Cook farce, a theater company mounts a luau-themed tragedy to save their building. Through April 12. Arvada Festival Playhouse, 5665 Olde Wadsworth Blvd., 303-422-4090 or .

“The Merry Wives of Windsor.” A 1920s take on Shakespeare’s comedy. See story, above. Through April 19. Denver Center Theatre Company, Denver Performing Arts Complex, 14th and Curtis streets, 303-893-4100 or .