The last thing Beatrice anticipates is falling into Benedick’s arms (or falling in love with him, for that matter). Blythe Coons is Beatrice and Ron Heneghan is Benedick. Photo by C. Stanley Photography.
It seems that love is in bloom in Baltimore and that is good news for theatergoers. Center Stage opened this season with Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austin’s beloved battle of the sexes. Further south on Calvert Street, Chesapeake Shakespeare Company is celebrating its second season in Baltimore with the blueprint for this Austen novel and countless romantic comedies that followed through the centuries – Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing.
Matthew R. Wilson, founder of Washington, D.C.’s commedia del’Arte Faction of Fools Theatre Company, is making his directorial debut and has hit it out of the park with this wildly entertaining production. Wilson has cleverly set the play at close of the World War I, which should be very familiar to lovers of the series Downton Abbey. Not surprising, he has also integrated elements of the slapstick comedies of the fledgling movie industry.
It is a time to put the horrors of war behind and embrace the cultural and social changes on the horizon – the birth of the jazz age and more freedom for women. It is a perfect fit for this play.
The marriage of Wilson’s inventive Faction of Fools sensibilities with CSC’s production team and skilled cast makes Much Ado About Nothing a must-see as the new theater season opens in Baltimore.
The set is a lovely replication of the exterior of a country mansion that extends three levels up to the gloriously detailed ceiling of the historic bank building. For the space, this was a herculean task achieved with the collaboration of the director, scenic designer Kathryn Kawecki, and technical director Daniel O’Brian. O’Brien is also responsible for the clever lighting design. Kristina Lambdin adds the final touches with detailed Edwardian-era costumes. The play includes a masquerade ball (the masks no doubt a contribution from the Faction of Fools) with energetic choreography by Katherine Elizabeth Kelly.
As with many Shakespeare plays, there are dual love stories. The master of the estate, Leonato (Michael Salconi), welcomes the soldiers home from the war which include Don Pedro (a wonderful nuance performance by Jose Guzman), and his men, young Claudio (Gerrad Alex Taylor) and the clever and cocky Benedick (Ron Heneghan). Claudio immediately falls for Hero (Diane Curley), the beautiful daughter of Leonato and cousin to the more mature and quick-witted Beatrice (Blythe Coons). Don Pedro aids Claudio in his pursuit of Hero and plans are made for a joyous marriage. Because the course of true love never does run smooth, the fly in the ointment is Don John (Jeff Keough) Don Pedro’s bastard brother, who plots to foil the nuptials by destroying Hero’s reputation with the aid of Borachio (James Jager).
One can sense a history between Beatrice and Benedick, a confirmed bachelor who stutters every time the word “marriage” crosses his lips. To watch the couple verbally spar and parry is pure delight. In a cast of fine performances across the board, Ron Heneghan nearly steals the whole show. However, he has met his match in Blythe Coons’ strong-willed Beatrice, one of the Bard’s greatest female characters.
The play is worth seeing for the garden scene alone, which is actually two separate scenes performed alternately to great comic effect. It involves the friends of the two conspiring to throw the reluctant Benedick and Beatrice together, which gives Heneghan and Coons the opportunity to display their considerable skills at physical comedy.
Another scene-stealer is the bombastic constable of the guard, Dogberry played Scott Alan Small, and his cadre of bumbling policeman, which include Verges (Lyle Blake Smythers) and actors Jeff Miller, Bobby Henneberg and Robby Rose. When they capture Borachio and his friend, Conrade (Matthew Pauli), Conrade declares Dogberry “an a*s.” As is standard with CSC productions, audience interaction abounds and here we have a chase scene befitting the Keystone Cops as they run through all parts of the theater and Dogberry encouraging the audience to finish the line “I am an a*s,” which comes up frequently thereafter.
The marriage of Wilson’s inventive Faction of Fools sensibilities with CSC’s production team and skilled cast makes Much Ado About Nothing a must-see as the new theater season opens in Baltimore.
Running time: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
Much Ado About Nothing runs through October 11, 2015 at Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, 7 South Calvert Street, Baltimore, MD 21202. For tickets call 41-244-8571 or go online.
