Much Ado About Nothing
Shakespeare’s marvelous comedy, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, is a romantic soufflé, topped with gobs of lacerating wit. The much-discussed (by other characters) romance between two mid-30s, educated, intelligent Italians from Messina, Sicily, who don’t really understand how badly they’ve been bitten by the LoveBug, fight off their attractions to the other until their friends and family manage to make clear to them their inner intentions.
Shakespeare’s comedy/melodrama was most probably written late in the 1590s and was performed at the Globe Playhouse, south of the river Thames, thus somewhat away from the puritanical officials of Queen Elizabeth’s government. At any rate, it was a hit for him at the time.
The plot, which often strains credulity, concerns the upcoming nuptials of Hero and Claudio, he late of the wars and she daughter of the governor of Messina. A subplot concerns a wayward villain who poisons Claudio’s vision of his Hero, only to be thwarted at the last moment, thus engendering a happy ending. As well it should.
A Noise Within’s happy production, directed by Michael W. Murray, is a great joy to watch, being a feast for the eye in Kurt Boetcher’s set design and Soojin Lee’s marvelous costume-design, as well as a the ear with classically-trained actors making the most of their backgrounds.
The one true standout in a uniformly-excellent cast is J.D. Cullum, who has certainly grown into whatever promise we’ve seen in the past twenty or so years. His Benedict is extraordinary, with not just physical prowess in his body but also a graceful clarity of voice and intent. There is no doubt about how his character feels when either bewildered by the verbal attacks on him by Beatrice or by his own conflicted emotional feelings towards her. It’s a brilliant performance, rarely seen. It’s what actors must always strive for: a clear character arc married to a hellava lot of fun getting to the end.
Everyone else is very good, and Torri Higginson, as Beatrice, just about matches Cullum in intent and delivery. Other standouts are Lindsay Gould as Hero and Brandon Hernsberger. ANW stalwarts Mark Bramhall, Apollo Dukakis, Stephen Rockwell, Steve Weingartner and Mitchell Edmonds bring their professionalism -- as they always do -- to the proceedings: full characterizations and a gift for language. But even non-union actors such as Peter Larney as Balthasar and Abigail Caro as Ursula delight with their presence.
This is a charming and witty production of a delightful play, and A Noise Within has blessed it with a solid and funny production.