Review Much Ado About Nothing Old Globe Kathleen Marshall
A CurtainUp California Review
Much Ado Near Naught
Michael Hayden and Sara Topham (Photograph by Jim Cox)
Information technology happens at the end and it's out of nowhere, but no, that's not a spoiler. In this presentation, Don John the bastard blood brother, the rotter who has spent the beginning iv acts supplying the "ado" of Shakespeare'due south Much Ado About Nothing, is brought dorsum in chains. Penalty may well await him, but first there'due south a endmost number to bring home and Manoel Felciano (whose previous villainy is rendered up with relish plenty to encompass four Vienna sausages) joins the ring with equal gusto. Felciano is upwards on the palazzo'south 2nd flooring balcony with the musicians. Below, the residue of the company dances its manner through Stephen Flaherty's upwardly-tempo version of "Sigh no More." Given the panache of the hoofing, that championship isn't but a wish. It'due south positively an lodge.
Productions with every bit much buzz and litheness equally Kathleen Marshall'southward staging at San Diego's Old Globe demonstrate why Much Ado remains quite possibly Shakespeare'due south most unkillable play (Midsummer Night's Dream runs a close 2nd). Granted, you lot always demand a believably bickering Beatrice and Benedick, and if you've got the space to spin some farcical gold out of the tricking of the same B and B, that helps, too. Marshall'southward visitor has information technology all, and the three-time Tony Laurels winner, who is known largely for musicals, serves it upwardly on the Globe's Festival stage on some gorgeous scenery and with Cole Porter cranked up in the groundwork.
John Lee Beatty's gorgeous and quite functional prepare is equal parts playground and paradise. We're in the Italian Riviera sometime betwixt the first two wars. The men, back from boxing, pedal up to Leonato's estate on a modified surrey. The ladies slip from swimwear, to tennis duds, to swellegant evening wear (designed by Michael Krass) for dining and revels both within and out amid the fountains and trees. Lighting designer Stephen Strawbridge bathes the estate in moonlight. Small wonder that Don Pedro and his soldiers are so easily persuaded to stay.
The overarching vibe of this venture is amusement, and the giddiness that comes from the realization that "heavens to Betsy! I really can fall in dearest." Don Pedro (Michael Boatman), Leonato (Rene Thornton, Jr.) and Claudio (Carlos Angel-Barajas) enjoy the stuffing out of tricking Benedick (Michael Hayden) into believing Beatrice is in love with him. The aforementioned holds true for Hero (Morgan Taylor) and Ursula (Larica Schnell) who have Sara Topham's Beatrice snaking her way around a fountain to endeavour to hear the gossip that Benedick is equally smitten with her.
When you lot get down to it, the comic scenes at the center of Much Ado are structured around the stuff of junior high school gossip &emdash! "guess who likes who!" The stakes of these proceedings (and the ensuing monologs) may change depending on where the actors playing Beatrice and Benedick seem to exist in life. The older, sadder or more set up-in-their ways the characters are (James Earl Jones and Vanessa Redgrave played the roles together several years dorsum), the greater the impact of their ability to fall in love. For a B and B in their senior years, this could be their last and just chance at companionship.
Only Topham and Hayden look to be in their early to mid 40s and their characters aren't in any kind of jeopardy of bachelorhood or spinsterhood. Nor are they seeking such a fate, despite words to the contrary. Sure, Topham's Beatrice talks a good game and Hayden's low- fundamental Benedict can muster the energy to parry the verbal thrusts, but they've clearly been at this route for awhile (the entire visitor gathers exterior to briefly watch their commencement act grouse). The ii actors, both of them pros, are working the Hepburn and Tracey interplay a bit, and if their banter is hiding something deeper, we're not meant to come across it. Marshall breaks for intermission with a sweet tableau immediately following Beatrice's "discovery." Topham is beneath, jubilant with a trip the light fantastic toe; Hayden is on the terrace, one level up, doing the same as Cole Porter's "Let's do information technology, Let'southward Fall in Honey" leads us into the break. That'due south right. Love gives y'all happy feet.
Things turn a bit darker in the second half as Don John's plot to convince Claudio of Hero's infidelity takes hold, merely non for long. Fred Applegate'south buffoonish Constable Dogberry is on the example and his riffraff-y lookout man handles the abort of Don John's cohorts Borachio (Eric Weiman) and Conrade (Yadira Correa). As they're receiving their instructions, watch members Samantha Sutliff, Jersten Seraile and Jose Martinez provide some slap-up comic oomph and they become a boost from James Newcomb doing double duty as Dogberry's sidekick Verges and Leonato's brother Antonio.
At 13 productions in 83 seasons, Much Ado is the most frequently staged work of Shakespeare in the Old World'south history (this ane marks my fifth). The play is a reliable festival warhorse to trot out for a summer airing. A few of the company members have played this phase before, but there are enough new faces for the endeavor to avert feeling like quondam- home week. And with an ace like Marshall and a visitor like this, it's plenty like shooting fish in a barrel to fall in dear with Much Ado all over again.
Search CurtainUp in the box below
Much Ado Nigh Nothing by William Shakespeare
Directed by Kathleen Marshall
Bandage: Sara Topham, Michael Hayden, Fred Applegate, Michael Boatman, Manoel Felciano, James Newcomb, René Thornton Jr., Carlos Angel-Barajas, Sam Avishay, Nora Carroll, Yadira Correa , Daniel Ian Joeck , Jose Martinez, Renardo Charles Pringle Jr., Larica Schnell, Jersten Seraile, Samantha Sutliff, Morgan Taylor, Wenona Truong, Jared Van Heel, Eric Weiman, Musicians Abigail Grace Allwein and James Michael McHale
Set Design: John Lee Beatty
Costume Design: Michael Krass
Lighting Pattern: Stephen Strawbridge
Audio Design: Sten Severson
Composer ("Sigh no More"): Stephen Flaherty
Music Manager: Abigail Grace Allwein
Fight Director: Jacob Grigolia-Rosenbaum
Text and Phonation Double-decker: Ursula Meyer
Casting: Tara Rubin Casting/Laura Schutzel
Production Stage Manager: Jess Slocum
Plays through September 16, 2018 at the Old World Theatre, Balboa Park, San Diego (619) 234-5622 www.TheOldGlobe.org
Running fourth dimension: two hours and 40 minutes, including one intermission
Reviewed by Evan Henerson
REVIEW FEEDBACK
Highlight ane of the responses beneath and click "copy" or"CTRL+C"
- I agree with the review of Much Ado Nigh Cypher
- I disagree with the review of Much Ado About Nothing
- The review made me eager to meet Much Ado About Nothing
Paste the highlighted text into the subject line (CTRL+ V):
Feel free to add detailed comments in the body of the electronic mail. . .also the names and emails of whatsoever friends to whom y'all'd like us to forward a re-create of this review.
For a feed to reviews and features as they are posted at http://curtainupnewlinks.blogspot.com to your reader
Curtainup at Facebook . . . Curtainup at Twitter
Source: http://www.curtainup.com/muchadola18.html
Post a Comment for "Review Much Ado About Nothing Old Globe Kathleen Marshall"