Much Ado About Nothing

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Reviewed by: Much Ado About Nothing Barbara Ann Lukacs Much Ado About Nothing Presented by The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey at the open-air Greek Theatre, St. Elizabeth University, Convent Station, NJ. 1–31 July 2022. Directed by Eleanor Holdridge. Scenic design by Charlie Calvert. Costume design by Hunter Kaczarowski. Lighting design by Matthew Weisgable. Sound design and composition by Scott Killian. Sound design by Christopher Peifer. Dance consultant Danielle Liccardo. Stage management by Jackie Mariani. With Jeffrey Marc Alkins (Don John), Michael Stewart Allen (Dogberry), Richard Bourg (Antonio/Verges), Jabari Carter (Borachio), Dino Curia (Friar Francis), Jesmille Darbouze (Beatrice), Benjamin Eakeley (Benedick), Christian Frost (Claudio), Ellie Gossage (Margaret), Carolyne Leys (Ursula), James Michael Reilly (Don Pedro), Fiona Robberson (Hero), Raphael Nash Thompson (Leonato), and others. A director will seek opportunities for an audience to connect with the production they are staging and will take into consideration the temper of the times. Eleanor Holdridge wisely chose to make her debut at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey’s Outdoor Stage with a joyful production of Much Ado About Nothing. After two and a half years of a pandemic that resulted in government mandates ordering theaters to close, for the wearing of protective masks, and for the avoidance of large gatherings, Holdridge created a light, happy, music-filled Mediterranean setting for this production to welcome back theatergoers. To transport a pandemic-weary audience to this happier place, Hold-ridge added an opening scene with recorded music—violin and accordion duets with a distinct Central European flavor—set in an Italian piazza in Messina where neighbors greeted each other and enjoyed entertainment, food, and drink. A woman dealt cards as a young man looked on. Contortionists exhibited amazing flexibility, while other characters engaged in juggling colorful balls. At the back wall, a young lady sold drinks from a keg on a wheeled cart. The rear of the set was a continuous façade of mustard-colored Mediterranean building exteriors comprising three sectioned exterior walls with the side sections angled outward to surround the piazza. Stage right had an expansive doorway opening that gave us a peek into an adjacent room. The doorway was flanked by red, green, and beige striped drapes. The next segment of the wall had four steps up from the piazza to a wide-arched open doorway. A flat wall spanned most of the back of the stage and had a niche at its center that housed a Christian cross and that later functioned as the church for Hero’s wedding. Flowering vines trailed [End Page 566] down from a wooden pergola overhead. Next, a doorway was framed by striped drapes, adjacent to which was a two-story tower with an arched first floor doorway and a matching window above. The costumes evoked the Napoleonic era. Back from war, the soldiers initially sported light gray military dress uniforms with jackets trimmed in red and dark gray fabrics. Knee-high black boots and sheathed swords hanging at their sides completed their outfits. The military aspect was not emphasized in this production; hence, they often wore casual civilian attire consisting of beige pants and long-sleeved white shirts, adding to the light-hearted atmosphere. As in most productions, Beatrice and Benedick dominated this performance with their repartee and wit. Benjamin Eakeley portrayed Benedick as mature, sensitive, thoughtful, yet vulnerable. The constant verbal jabs he and Jesmille Darbouze’s Beatrice threw at one another were emotional defense measures used to avoid admitting to themselves and to those around them what their true feelings were for one another. Elements of Beatrice’s tactics and personality as presented in this production reminded me of Kate in The Taming of the Shrew. Eakeley’s expressive face and strong comedic sense made his portrayal of Benedick very likeable. The scene where he attempted to hide so that he could overhear Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro talking about him was hilarious and a high point of the production, because none of the objects on stage, such as tiny potted plants, were large enough for him to hide behind. A small round table with a lace tablecloth had been set up at which Don Pedro, Claudio, and...