Among William Shakespeare's comedies, "Much Ado About Nothing" may be one of the most modern. It is dialogue-driven, the leads have contemporary attitudes about love and marriage, and in the end, no one is given away and all deal with life on their own terms.
And yes, it also has mistaken identities, masks, incredible use of the English language and a virginal heroine named Hero.
The Sun Valley Shakespeare Festival will present "Much Ado About Nothing" Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 23 through 26, and Aug. 30 through Sept. 2, at the Festival Field on Sun Valley Road. The new location will be especially befitting as the Festival Field, for the opening weekend, will be outfitted for the annual Sun Valley Renaissance Faire.
There are several aspects to "Much Ado" that make it such fun. Primarily written in prose rather than verse, it's one of Shakespeare's most accessible and witty plays. There are two contrasting couples, intrigue and ribald humor, mostly due to a loony duo named Dogberry (Scott Creighton) and Verges (Jana Arnold).
Published in 1600, it was first performed in approximately 1598. This version, however, is set some 250 years later in Southern California's Rancho period.
A war has just ended and the soldiers return to find women living peacefully in a "golden" world of their own making. For years, Leonato (Andrew Alburger), a wealthy rancher and landowner, has been overseeing this domain. The presence of the men, who are hot with their own machismo, "throws everything into chaos," said director Bruce Hostetler.
In Leonato's charge are two single women: his daughter Hero (Sharon Barto) and niece Beatrice (Patsy Wygle). Claudio (MacKenzie Harbaugh) and his best friend, Benedick (Keith Moore), arrive on the scene, completing the requisite two pairs of lovers. While Hero and Claudio fall passionately in love and all that entails, Benedick and Beatrice believe they understand what marriage entails and it's not for them. For Beatrice, marriage is a state that puts a woman's integrity at risk by submitting to a man. A similar sense is felt by Benedick, who is troubled by Claudio's lack of restraint. But their clever repartee makes it obvious they are meant for each other, if only they could but see.
"Beatrice is smart but she needs to couch it so it disarms rather than offends," Hostetler said. "She can still be put off by the inequality. Benedick is a man who uses humor as a defense, to keep people from getting too close.
"It's a play about people who fall in love because they have some life experience, who aren't children like Romeo and Juliet, or in this case, Claudio and Hero. Beatrice knows herself well enough to know to look at the man himself.
"You make different choices when you're more mature. I find that fascinating in this play."
"Much Ado" is not all about light and love, however. There are evil minds at work in the character of another wealthy landowner, Don John (Jamey Reynolds), who manages to have Hero falsely accused of unfaithfulness just before her wedding.
"Claudio is a very young man," Hostetler said. "A protégé, but he's a boy. He's presented with this girl. But when he believes himself to be jilted (wrongly) his knee-jerk reaction is to hurt back. Part of his arc is realizing his actions have consequences."
The cast also includes equity actor Ramon Ramos making his first appearance with Sun Valley Shakespeare as well as valley-based actors Kristy Kuntz, Michelle Nelson, Karl Nordstrom, Dean Cerutti, Scott Slonim, Michael Freilich, Bruce Hostetler and students Brooke Hand, Faith Coben, Scott Noel and Jamie Wygle.
Plan to picnic at the meadow before the play. Shade and bleacher seating will be provided; audiences often bring their own low-backed chairs and rugs for seating on the grass in front of the stage.
Tickets—$20, with discounts for seniors and students—are available at the nexStage Theatre on Main Street in Ketchum during business hours, or by calling 726-4tks.
