Review: Much Ado About Nothing

Review: Much Ado About Nothing  | Platte Valley Theatre Arts | Brighton, CO | Curtain Up! | Gina Robertson

The scene is Messina, Italy 1918, in a courtyard, romantic and vibrant with climbing ivy, potted olive trees, and lovely hanging Wisteria flowers. Happy people in period era dress contribute to the hypnotic vision: dancing, singing, partying, and gossiping about one another.

Two in particular pop out of the scene like card-paper images from a child’s pop-up book. They are Beatrice and Benedick. Both are bold and playful, loud and exuberant, and oddly fixated on each other. Welcome to Platte Valley Theatre’s presentation of Much Ado About Nothing.

As director, choreographer, scenic designer and prop master, Kelly Van Oosbree’s hard work on this show has paid off with an enchanting world set in a dazzling bubble of time that may or may not have existed but feels very authentic. Musical numbers range from a big, period era ensemble Charleston dance to a sweet, simple folk melody sung self-accompanied by guitar. Benedick, played adorably by Bill Diggle, plucking his way through a love song on ukelele is too charming for words.

Sarah Kit Farrell and Bill Diggle; Photo Credit: RDGPhotography

The story goes like this: a group of soldiers arrive in Messina, and young Claudio (Cooper Atchison) falls in love with Hero (Marisa Dinsmoor), the daughter of the respected Leonato (Matt Hindmarch), elderly governor of Messina. The young couple will happily marry, but malign deceivers plot to undo them by spreading vicious lies about the virtue of the young Hero. Meanwhile, Beatrice (Sarah Kit Farrell) and Benedick (Bill Diggle) are famously disdainful of one another and trade much rude banter before their friends conspire to bring them together in true love.

The treatment of Hero in this story is problematic by today’s standards. One cannot help but cringe deeply when her father and her beloved fiancé both freak out and start screaming and flinging her about the stage like a bag of garbage. These are the two men who love her most, yet when they think she might have had the sort of fun that comes naturally to young people (especially to young, lusty Italian people), they hate her.

The cheerful, loving Leonato, her father, becomes incandescent and truly appears to be stroking out with rage at the mere accusation that she might have spoken to a man from her window late one night. He wishes death on her, “Do not live, Hero; do not ope thine eyes!” When he turns his rage upon those who have slandered her, his eyes shoot daggers across the stage. Hindmarch is an actor who can swivel from benevolent, jolly old Dad to blistering force of vengeance in just a few lines.

When Claudio (Cooper Atchison) learns that Hero has supposedly died from shame and grief, he basically says, “Death is cool with me, she’s a slut.  Die, Hero!”

Lovers of Shakespeare will suspend their distaste for this behavior, of course, because it’s no fun to over-think it, and sweet Hero is quickly redeemed. She triumphs in the end with the discovery of the villainous scheme and gets over on her fiancé with a mischievous prank of her own. It’s all fun and games, after all, and in Shakespeare’s plays people always become unrecognizable when their faces are covered.

Cooper Atchison, Isabella Duran, Jackson Westenskow, and Matt Hindmarch; Photo Credit: RDGPhotography

As Hero, Marisa Dinsmoor is passionate and strong. In her tomb, she sings a heartbreaking song “What’ll I Do” and awaits her redemption. In defending her cousin, the equally fierce Beatrice expresses radiant anguish at the smearing of Hero’s good name. Her “eat his heart in the marketplace” rage is justified, and she wishes she could respond in a masculine way. The masculine to feminine character arc is evident as Farrell brings Beatrice on a journey from sharp-tongued grump in masculine dress to a more vulnerable lady in love wearing pretty dresses and melting in the arms of her man. In both personas, she has a delightful, sweet laugh.

Diggle’s Benedick effortlessly charms the audience in a most direct manner as he hands props to random viewers, speaks to them directly, and sits down amongst them to hide his face behind a program, shushing them while he listens. He climbs across the laps of those in the second row while eavesdropping on his friends as they discuss Beatrice’s love for him. His expressive face and comedic timing will win over Beatrice along with the audience every time.

In a large, talented cast, all giving everything they have to this story, a few stand out. Cam Leonard as Dogberry, though not written down an ass, is a pretty piece of flesh, vividly cartoonish as they investigate and uncover the villainous plot. In his dignity and stature, Jacob McCrory as Friar Francis dominates the scene and commands attention.

Tyler Strickland’s eyes sparkle with mischief as Borachio, and his hair is a character unto itself. He moves at times like a reptile, seeming to have no bones in his legs. Adam Luhrs is cunning and cold as the villain Don John.

According to director Kelly Van Oosbree, the language of Shakespeare “demands precision, clarity, and trust.” This production shows how it should be done. The modern audience understands the unfamiliar words and phrases based on the actors’ physicality and exaggerated enunciation. Director of text Jeff Parker is to be commended.

Costume designer Susan Rahmsdorff-Terry has dressed the characters authentically in rich fabrics and lace with attention to detail and a sense for fitting them into the vision of a scene. Friar Francis stands out starkly in his black and red cassock, and the soldiers are all sharp and handsome in their uniforms right down to their boots. Ladies’ hair and dresses appear to be authentic to the time, and their parasols are exquisite. Leonato looks especially regal in a stunning brown suit and satin tie.

Oosbree has injected fun into the props selection, with a choreographed sword fight that doesn’t involve swords at all. Working with lighting designer Brett Maughan, her scenic design is breathtaking, and the wedding scene is lit like a dream.

See Much Ado About Nothing through May 16 at the Armory Performing Arts Center in Brighton. You’ll be most delightfully abused and happily undone by this wickedly talented cast and crew.

Information and tickets: https://www.plattevalleytheatrearts.org/much-ado