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From the 2015-2016 Season:
Much Ado About Nothing
Playing March 05, 2016 to March 26, 2016
$15 General Admission Preview March 3
$20 General Admission Preview Friday March 4
No performance March 27
$20 General Admission Preview Friday March 4
No performance March 27
Shakespeare’s second-famous “battle of the sexes” play. Will Benedick, the ever-confirmed bachelor, admit his love for the equally witty and equally independent Beatrice? Will the young lovers Claudio and Hero survive the devious meddling of others? What do you want to bet there will be two weddings in the end?
Join the cast and crew members for a lively Question and Answer session on Sunday March 13 after the show!
Read the Plot Synopsis
Much Ado Synopsis
Leonato, Governor of Messina, is host to Don Pedro, the Prince of Arragon, who has come from suppressing a rebellion by his bastard brother, Don John. With Pedro are John, now “reconciled” to him; Claudio, a young Florentine lord, of whom John is bitterly resentful; and a Paduan lord, Benedick, said to be a confirmed bachelor and engaged in a “merry war” with Leonato’s niece, Beatrice, apparently a confirmed spinster. Claudio loves Leonato’s daughter, Hero; Don John swears to thwart him. After a masked ball the wedding of Claudio and Hero is planned. Borachio, Don John’s follower, tells him that having seen that the Prince and Claudio are listening, he will exchange love vows by night with Hero’s gentlewoman, dressed in her mistress’s clothes, at Hero’s bedroom window.
Pedro, Claudio and Leonato ensure that Benedick (hidden in a garden arbour) hears them discuss Beatrice’s presumably passionate love for him. Hero and Ursula play a similar trick on the listening Beatrice (here the passion is Benedick’s). On the night before the wedding Don John offers to give the Prince and Claudio proof of Hero’s unfaithfulness. Later, Borachio heard boasting about his successful deceit to a drunken comrade, is arrested by the Watch and taken to Dogberry, the constable. Before Leonato can know anything, the wedding ceremony is due. In the church Claudio denounces Hero, who faints. The Friar proposes that Hero be reported dead and hidden until the truth is known. Beatrice, much grieved, urges Benedick to kill Claudio. At length all is revealed and the penitent Claudio promises to marry a niece of Leonato, said to be the image of the “dead” Hero. She is, of course, Hero herself; Beatrice and Benedick, as expected, resolve their “merry war,” and news comes that Don John has been taken prisoner.
-The Pocket Companion to Shakespeare’s Plays by J C Trewin
Director's Notes
Directed by Laura Cole
Show Information
Duration
Act One - 70 min / 15 min intermission / Act Two - 80 min (Ending time is approx. 10:30/9:30 Sundays)
Show Roles
March 5-26, 2016
Don Pedro - Jacob York
Don John - Chris Rushing
Claudio - Anthony Peeples*
Benedick - Matt Nitchie
Leonato - Rob Cleveland*
Antonio- Doug Kaye*
Hero - Nedra Snipes
Beatrice - Laura Cole
Margaret - Leah Keelan
Ursula - Sarah Newby Halicks
Borachio - Kevin Roost
Conrade - David Sterritt
Dogberry - Chris Rushing
Verges - J. Tony Brown*
Sexton- Doug Kaye*
Friar Frances - J. Tony Brown*
Balthasar - Adam King
The Watch - Sarah Newby Halicks, Adam King, Rob Cleveland*
*Member of Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States
Show Times
Bardometer Rating
How difficult is this Shakespearean play to grasp? On a scale of 1 to 10.What does rating this mean?
You may already know the story and what happens at the end. But even if you don?t, the play is light and the plot is easy to follow. Limited violence, limited bawdiness (see below). There are very few things ? historical, religious, or political ? that you need to know ahead of time. Just enjoy!
A note about bawdiness in Shakespeare: It exists. Despite what your English teacher taught you, Shakespeare wrote some pretty saucy lines and they pop up from time to time. While there is never any nudity on stage, our actors are trained to make the text clear. If we feel a show contains a plethora of Graphic Elizabethan Poetry (or is very bloody/violent/triggering) we will put that disclaimer in the blurb about the show. It won?t happen often. If this Bardometer lists a play as a 1 or 2, you can rest assured that it is an appropriate show for kids under ten.
Additional Information
Now Playing
ASC performances
Guest companies and special events
- There are no events from this season. Check back soon!