Review: Shakespeare Theatre's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING a Dazzlingly Brilliant Farce

The minute you enter the Sidney Harman Theatre, and you behold Alexander Dodge's stunning set, decked with flat screens from stage floor to proscenium's peak, you know that Simon Goodwin's new production of Much Ado About Nothing fully intends to pull out all the stops. Visually joyful, with antics and sight-gags galore, this is just the break from election anxiety this town needs. We've been waiting a long time for this one (COVID delayed the premiere by a bit, as you can imagine), and boy was this wait worth it!

Headed by Kate Jennings Grant and Rick Holmes as the central couple, Beatrice and Benedick, this Much Ado is a romp and a half, aided quite cleverly by breaking stories on the "Shakespeare News Network (SNN)," with lots of juicy tidbits about royals and ancient events in the Middle East featuring prominently.

The happy-but-bickering couple of Beatrice and Benedick are seen here as co-news anchors on SNN, and the other love story here, Claudio and Hero (the nicely paired Paul Deo Jr. and Nicole King) are the weather and sports reporters. The traditional action of the play - set in Italy after some foreign war or other-is set here in a TV studio, with corporate raiders and reporters intermingling. This means, among other things, that the traditional action of this classic comedy is regularly interrupted by "breaking news" bulletins delivered live onstage, but also on screen. These news breaks are hilarious, made all the better by some very witty adaptations of the Bard to all things DC.

It's also wonderful to see Ed Gero return to the Shakespeare Theatre Company as Leonato, the long-suffering father to Hero (and uncle to Beatrice). Gero's way with the language is impeccable as always, and he reminds that for all the fun and games, Shakespeare insists we see some real pathos along the way, happy endings notwithstanding.

For sheer comic relief, however, it's hard to top the feckless security guards at the station, led by Dave Quay as Dogberry. The gags and slapstick routines are worked to as fine a point as you could possibly imagine, without a single opportunity for a cheap yuk every time somebody even thinks of moving a step. Raven Lorraine-as Dogberry's chief assistant, Georgina Seacoal-is a brilliant straight-person to Quay's utterly incomprehensible derring do. Lorraine also has a stunning turn as Belle Shazzar, who belts out the play's romantic song ("Sigh No More") to a truly infectious disco beat, balloons at the ready to enhance the party atmosphere.

Evie Gurney's costumes are spot-on, from the plain brown of Leonato to the slinky dresses for the female news anchors; and Aaron Rhyne's projection design puts the production over the top, indeed.

Production Photo: Rick Holmes and Kate Jennings Grant as Benedick and Beatrice. Photo by Tony Powell.

Running Time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one intermission.

Much Ado About Nothing runs through December 11 at the Sidney Harman Hall, 610 F Street` NW, Washington, DC 20004.

For tickets call 202-547-1122, or visit:
https://www.shakespearetheatre.org/tickets-and-events/special-offers/

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