“Friendship is constant in all other things, Save in the office and affairs of love.”
Love is in the air; but some may need a little meddling, I mean “help,” from their friends to realize it. As for the audience, it is easy to feel the love in Chesapeake Shakespeare Company’s Much Ado About Nothing. Playing under the open sky and in the ruins at the PFI Historic Park in Ellicott City now through July 24th,
Marry, sirs and madams and those of all genders, I shall
commit no false report; moreover, I will speak no untruths; secondly, I shall not
be a slanderer; sixth and lastly, I shall belay a jovial account; thirdly, I
shall verify only just things pertaining to this account; and to conclude, I
send ye my most polished praises to this Storytellers: A Theater Arts Academy’s
production of Much Ado About Nothing. Hopping houses,
All’s fair in love and war. Shakespeare said it. Well, he didn’t actually. In fact, he wrote a whole bunch of plays that seemed to prove the opposite of fairness in war and especially in love. Much Ado About Nothing, one of the less-troubled comedies, is one such that is now making its way to outdoor (and temporarily indoor) stages by way of Gypsy Wagon Theatre Company this summer. Directed by Bill Soucy,
Artistic Synergy of Baltimore (ASoB) presents a splendid rendition of Much Ado About Nothing, one of Shakespeare’s most well-known classic comedies. Most are probably familiar with the material already through literature class, seeing it performed elsewhere, or from the various movie versions (most notably the 1993 version directed by Kenneth Branagh), but for those who are not familiar, it can be summed up briefly as two love stories intertwining with misdirection,
Annapolis Shakespeare Company opens its main stage with a lavish, lush, magnificent Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s most genuinely romantic rom-com. Director Sally Boyett has given it a 50’s spin, with a rock-and-roll soundtrack and a spectacular Tuscan villa (by way of California), with a two-story stucco house and terra-cotta dance floor (by scenic designer Jack Golden).
Helena Farhi and Benjamin Russell play Shakespeare’s greatest lovers, Beatrice and Benedick.
Theatres all across the Washington DC and Baltimore metropolitan area are popping up like daisies in the spring time. Musical theatre companies, companies devoted to the classics, new edgy fringe-based companies; every city has a few dozen devoted to each if not more. But Silver Spring, a cozy suburb on the outskirts of the nation’s capitol proper, has a company that is truly unique. It’s almost 13 years old and was founded by Artistic Director Kevin Kearney,
Tis indeed summer and that to the world of the Bard means Much Ado About Nothing. And the Baltimore Shakespeare Factory is no exception to that rule as they mount their first in-the-round production this summer. Taking the well recognized comic back to its simplistic basics, the BSF strips away the scenery and all the other convolutions that can often clog-up Shakespeare’s wittiest comedy and present it in its original essence.