“Much Ado About Nothing” at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
Let me start by saying, I am not usually a fan of Shakespeare. Yes, that is primarily from a lack of understanding of the language…ok…that’s really all it is. I have avoided reviewing the man’s work for almost a year now. Saturday night, I decided to try again. I am so glad I did!
“Much Ado About Nothing” at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING tells a multi-layered story about love and deception. This play, like much of Shakespeare’s work, exists in the place where those two qualities intersect. In fact, the first lesson I learned from MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING? Never plot evil at a masquerade ball. You never know if the person you are plotting to double cross is in fact, the person you are talking to! Don John makes that mistake and with evil trickery in progress, we watch romances live and die around his plot. But, the good guy always wins, right?
“Much Ado About Nothing” at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
For me, watching a show in Shakespearean language is like overhearing a conversation in a tongue you only partially understand. You pick up words here and there, but occasionally find yourself struggling to catch up. Thankfully for me I had a notepad. Here’s what I jotted down. Benedick (J. Todd Adams) loves Beatrice (Cassandra Bissell), but she doesn’t feel the same way…yet. Claudio (Neil Brookshire) loves Hero (Betsy Mugavero), until Don John (Juan Rivera Lebron) interferes with evil trickery with Borachio (Darren Matthias). Confused yet? Don’t worry, when you see the show, all will make sense.
The talented cast and crew, lead by director Sharon Ott, takes this medieval soap opera, pulls it into the 1920’s and makes it easy to understand for the casual theatre-goer. J. Todd Adams is remarkable as Benedick and really seems to be the glue that holds the show together. Cassandra Bissell is witty and classy as Beatrice. Eric Damon Smith is hilarious as Balthasar, and as the priest. The real surprises come from the ‘keystone cops’ style slapstick performances of Dogberry (Dougfred Miller) and Verges (M.A. Taylor).
“Much Ado About Nothing” at the Hanna Theatre, PlayhouseSquare. (Photo by Roger Mastroianni)
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is delightfully staged in a cool modern art elegance with 1920’s elements sprinkled throughout. The cast is superb, the storytelling effective and the overall experience of this night at the Hanna Theatre is unforgettable. You heard it here folks, I’m giving MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING…by William Shakespeare…a good review. Go see this show!
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING plays the historic Hanna Theatre through April 14th. Tickets and information can be found at GreatLakesTheater.org.
