Much Ado About Nothing

Production Team

Catherine Weidner Director	Jim Alexander Set Designer	Hannah Cordes Intimacy Director
Jennifer Fok Lighting Designer	Melissa A. Nathan Stage Manager	Elizabeth Rocha Costume Designer
Cameron Sarchi Assistant Stage Manager	Llyn Thomas Production Assistant	Rew Tippin Sound Designer

Cast

A.J. Baldwin Beatrice, Dogberry	Grace Bauer Don Pedro, Don John	Mark S. Cartier Leonato, Oatcake	Hannah Freund Hero, Verges
Will Harrell Benedick, Seacoal	Robbie Harrison Balthasar, Friar Francis	Y’vonne Rose Smith Margaret, Sexton	David Sommer Claudio

From the Director
Though audiences love Much Ado About Nothing as a battle of wits between Beatrice and Benedick, it is also a heartbreaking story of an innocent person, young Hero, whose reputation is torn to bits based on false information. What we hear and see, what we believe, can be based on unreliable sources, under false premises, and cause irreparable damage. Two versions of this scenario play out before us: the tricking of the two reluctant lovers by their friends – who believe what they hear from others and act on it to hilarious ends; and the witnessing of what seems to be Hero’s betrayal of Claudio, which leads to ….Wait: No Spoilers!

This was Shakespeare’s focus in 1598, weaving the comic, the romantic, and the tragic into one tale, setting it in Italy (a location he often employed), and then going on to write four of the greatest dramatic works of the millennium: Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth. These plays all contain echoes from Much Ado: strong women enmeshed in complex schemes, villains who ensnare others in plots of revenge, and moments of redemption amidst the evil around us. The bumbling but earnest constable and her recruits reflect a community that cares about its own, wanting to do the right thing in the face of a wronged young lady.

In this version, we use eight actors — imagine! – to explore the depths of the story, and bring its humanity to the surface, like a relic from the deep that still has its luster and value because it is so well constructed. What emerges in Much Ado is a complex tale of forgiveness, woven together with the connective thread of laughter and self-deprecation, things we could all use a little bit more of right now.