Much Ado About Nothing

Postcard Review by Caroline Russell-King

Show – Much Ado About Nothing

Playwright – William Shakespeare’s first folio was published in 1623. He has had one or two productions since. Is referred to as a “dude” in the program.

Production Company/Theatre space – Community. The Shakespeare Company and Full Circle Theatre, West Village Theatre.

Length – 2 ACT (2 hours, 30 mins one intermission)

Genre/s – Many. As written, a romantic comedy.

Premise – Two couples come together happily surviving trickery, mistaken identity, and shenanigans.

Why this play? Why now? – Big cast, royalty free.

Curiosities – The program includes an essay entitled “Much Ado About Politically Weaponized Masculine Rage” written by Jenn Taylor. I wondered about rage. Full Circle Theatre says in their mandate “We just want to create!” I wondered who the focus of their creation was for, the audience or themselves. As much as I love Shakespeare’s work I wondered if brevity could be the soul of wit. I wondered, if actors were line-insecure and dried on closing night, how solid the opening was. I empathize with Will Rogers’ famous saying, “I don’t make jokes, I just watch the government and report the facts”.

Notable Moment – Rebecca Fishman choreographed a nice dance bit.

Notable writing – Shakespeare…

Notable performances – Megan Baldrey as Beatrice was a pleasure to watch. Janos Zeller delivered a solid performance. I’m interested to see what Wyliem McDonald does next in his career. Artistic Director Richard Beanue played Dogberry as a drunk Paul Teutul Sr.

Notable design/Production – Two producing companies pooled their resources and came up with a park bench, small table, three crates, and a fake potted plant. The costume designer put actor Kendra Hutchinson in a black dress which against the black drapes camouflaged her. The rest of the costumes only served to elucidate that the performance was a modern one.

Notable direction – John Knight directed a Monty Python piece, a melodrama, a farce, and a TV drama – unfortunately they were all in the same show. I wasn’t sure where we were and in what time period. Something modern with guns (although the text still referred to swords).

One reason to see this show – Due to my schedule I saw the play on closing night, so the show has since closed.