An industry-only workshop reading of the award winning a new play, Much Ado About Love will be held on September 17, 2014 in New York City.
Much Ado About Love is a modern Romantic Comedy with a twist: every line comes from Shakespeare. The play was written by David Nanto, a corporate strategist who took verse from 22 Shakespeare plays and sonnets and crafted them into an entirely new plot. He wrote the play while living as an expat in Tokyo and on business trips to London, New York, Singapore, and Buenos Aires.
Also featured are two songs with original music by
Kevin Kelly, a former advertising executive from New York City.
The play is the story of three friends who arrive in Italy at a small hotel where they swear an oath to avoid women for three months and focus only on their studies. On the day they arrive, two women check into the same hotel hoping to get away from difficulties at home.
With the men and women not interacting and with nothing else to do, they are saved by the gracious owner of the hotel, who suggests that they all do a reading of a play to pass the long evenings. It isn't long before the three men realize that they have fallen for the three women. But misunderstandings, shyness, and grief are almost insurmountable as they try to woo the girls of their dreams. But everything works out in the end proving that given the Bard's words, anyone has a chance at love.
The Workshop Reading is directed by
Johnny Lee Davenport and stars an all African-American cast of Shakespearean actors.
