Review: MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Mixes Shakespeare's Classic Romantic Comedy with a Rockin' Song Score

Director Gloria Gifford takes her job of inspiring upcoming stars in proper stage presentation, and above all, I must commend her for making sure each actor in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at TU Studios understood exactly what they were saying so Audience members could not only understand the words but also what was being said in terms of the dialogue's meaning. It is the first production of the play in which I could get the meaning of each line, even though the words as written were foreign to modern English. Some of the actors shared with me that Gloria demanded their line presentation and stage movements make perfect sense, and the actors responded with great care.

MUCH ADO was revolutionary for its patriarchal times as it featured a heroine like Beatrice, known for her sharp tongue and sparkling wit much like Kate in Taming of the Shrew. No doubt this worked well in Shakespeare's Globe Theater with the same actor taking on both feminine roles. No doubt Beatrice and Benedick became the prototypes for many of the characters portrayed in 20th Century film comedies by actors like Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were their clever banter fuels the comedy.

Gifford also decided to incorporate a modern rock music score, using perfectly matched song titles to the action and characters in the play. So just when a scene seemed to be running a bit long, the action changes into more of a rock musical than traditional Shakespeare. It is a perfect match, enhancing the comedy and exuberant sexual energy of the actors who are lucky enough to rock out like Elvis during their songs.

The play is set in Messina, Sicily with Beatrice, niece of the local governor Leonato, and Benedick, a gentleman and friend of the powerful Prince of Aragon Don Pedro, seeming adversaries, engaging in much verbal jousting and argument. As portrayed by Tejah Signori and Chad Doreck, Beatrice is a woman who knows the power of her sex appeal and needs a man just as strong as she is in order to catch her attention. Benedick (yes there are many asides with a wink about the last 4 letters in his name), is a real rake who enjoys the attention of all women in the court.

Benedick is admittedly smitten with Beatrice when they first meet but cannot seem to make any headway with her. The antagonistic remarks between them fool neither the men nor the women in Don Pedro's court who know Beatrice and Benedick are obviously meant for each other, even if their love isn't instantly apparent. Their friends conspire to trick them into confessing their love for each other, and as soon as the two get close to each other, the stage sizzles. Doreck's rendition of Pitbull's "I Know You Want Me" and Aaron Neville's "Use Me" certainly sum up his incredible sexual appeal with the ladies. How could anyone ignore those pelvic thrusts?

Meanwhile Claudio (Keith Walker), a young nobleman and friend of Benedick, is in love with Hero (Raven Bowens), daughter of Leonato (Justin Truesdale whose rendition of "Try a Little Tenderness" was beautifully crooned to all the ladies), who happens to be the illegitimate brother of Don Pedro (Jeff Hamasaki Brown). Claudio plans to wed Hero, but a scheme is plotted to thwart matters by Don John (Don Pedro's brother portrayed by Billy Budinich), who causes doubts to emerge about Hero's virtue. Jealous of Don Pedro and of the esteem in which Don Pedro holds his friend Claudio, Don John wants to prevent the wedding. Can he possibly succeed with the other men of the court willing to assist in his plotting? Of course there will be a happy ending in this romantic comedy - but with which couple? The fun is watching it all work out for the best, especially with the inserted rock score enhancing the motivations of the characters singing.

Kudos also go out to the colorful period appropriate costuming by Kasia Pilewicz and Gloria Gifford which greatly enhanced the courtly environment of the production.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING has love and romance, snappy dialogue, rock music, clowning, intrigue, laughter, and occasional risqué humor. (In Elizabethan slang, the "Nothing" in the title of the play could refer, depending on context, to either virginity or a select portion of the female anatomy.) The naughtiness is subtle enough that the show is still appropriate for family audiences, with the younger set certain to enjoy the entertaining staging of the following rock/pop songs:

AL DI LA - intro by Jerry Vale

I KNOW YOU WANT ME - Artist: Pitbull and performed by Benedick and soldiers

TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS - Artist: Otis Redding Performed by Leonato with Ladies

USE ME Artist: Aaron Neville Performed by Benedick

GEE WHIZ Artist: Carla Hool Performed by Beatrice

GET UP OFFA THAT THING Artist: JAmes Brown Performed by Dogberry with Verges and Watchmen (Will make you want to get up and dance!)

PIECE OF MY HEART Artist: Janis Joplin Performed by Hero, Margaret, Beatrice and the Ladies

REMEMBER THE TIME Artist: Michael Jackson Performed by Claudio and 3 Soldiers

CLOSE THE DOOR - Artist: Teddy Pendergrass Performed by Benedick

YOU'LL NEVER FIND ANOTHER LOVE LIKE MINE Artist: Lou Rawls Performed by Don John

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING written by William Shakespeare. Director/Executive producer: Gloria Gifford. Producers: Jade Warner, Lauren Plaxco, Chad Doreck. Presented by Jamaica Moon Productions and GGC at T.U. Studios, 10943 Camarillo Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91602 through September 18, 2016 on Saturday at 8:00pm, Sunday at 7:30pm. There is some free parking behind the theater and on local surface streets. Tickets are $25 and may be reserved by calling (310) 366-5505 or online at www.tix.com.

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