Review: Much Ado About Nothing

Review: Much Ado About Nothing | The Upstart Crow Theatre Company | Boulder, CO | Curtain Up! | Gina Robertson

The Upstart Crow Theatre Company opened their 46^th season with a classic take on Much Ado About Nothing Thursday with a simple but fun conception of what may be Shakespeare’s most accessible play, filled with wit, romance, deception, memorable characters and comedy.

With a simple set, minimal stage business, and understated costumes, this interpretation relied on performance and a few clever props to create its world. A lively maypole dance added some energy and charm, although overall the production was more pleasant than memorable.

The story is a romantic comedy about two couples engaging in timeless flirtation and courtship rituals, ultimately to marry after much mischief and sabotage. Benedick (Ben Johnson) and Beatrice (Brett Landis) start off at odds with one another, constantly bickering and sharply teasing. What’s clear to outsiders is that they belong together, which only needs to be suggested to each of them independently for them both to fall obligingly in love. Johnson’s lanky frame and elastic face are perfect for the physical comedy involved in eavesdropping on his friends as they set the trap. He transitions smoothly from rascal to romantic and then to fierce avenger, shooting daggers at Claudio with his eyes when he is sent to vindicate the honor of Beatrice’s cousin.

Ben Johnson and Brett Landis; Photo Credit: Timothy Reed

As Beatrice, Landis is merry and bright. She displays wit, charm and warm loyalty toward her kin along with a cheerful willingness to reverse course on all her proclamations against falling in love with a man.

The second couple, Claudio and Hero, played by Marion Schlundt and Grace Richardson, are young and successful, well-connected in the town. Claudio is the right-hand man of the prince, while Hero is the daughter of respected elder Leonato. As such, they are prime targets for the jealous schemes of Don John (Alex Hershberger), the prince’s bastard brother. He sets up poor Hero to be disgraced as a wanton woman, causing both Claudio and her father to shun her.

Grace Richardson and Marion Schlundt; Photo Credit: Timothy Reed

Schlundt’s Claudio is youthful and impulsive, quick to love as quick to judgment. Their pouting, smirking and laughing after Hero’s presumed death from shame come from a place of harsh immaturity. Richardson plays Hero as noble and sweet, fully humiliated by the dishonor that has befallen her but quick to forgive when she is vindicated.

To his credit, Mark Bradford’s Leonato is less apoplectic than some interpretations, preferring that Leonato be more sad than enraged by his daughter’s fall from grace, and also seemingly more skeptical of the charges against her than is sometimes portrayed. This has the benefit of softening some of the misogyny inherent in this part of the story.

Hershberger is a sinister rogue as Don John, a plain dealing villain, and his co-conspirators Borachio and Conrad, played by Steven Duclos and Kaley Sikora, are equally wicked as they put his plan into action. Sikora’s eyes are like a striking cobra’s while hissing the famous line “you are an ass!”

Director Jeremy Elman notes that letting the story, language and characters be the focus was a deliberate choice, with fast-paced dialogue and action and the stage rarely empty so that the story is always moving forward. “When the original material is this masterful,” he says, “there is something thrilling about simply trusting it.”

Mention must be made of cheerful, energetic Don Pedro (Scott Bishop) and his Spaniard’s hips. Katherine Dubois Reed appears as a dignified Friar Francis, dressed beautifully more like a shaman than a priest, and embodies patience and calm amid the drama.

Catch this entertaining bit of Shakespeare at Dairy Center’s Carsen Theater in Boulder through September 6. You’ll find a lively, committed cast with good chemistry and comedic timing performing a story that never gets old, no matter how many times you’ve seen it.

For Information and Tickets: https://www.theupstartcrow.org/46th-season/much-ado-about-nothing/