 | Much Ado About Nothing |  |
"What, my dear Lady Disdain! are you yet living?" Act I, scene i
Written: 1599
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre ; December 19, 2005 Chicago, Illinois
Starring :
Reviewed on : 2005-12-20 09:31:42 ; Reviewed by : Margarete Mandry
| Much Ado About Nothing
Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
December 10, 2005 - February 26, 2006
Directed by: Marti Maraden, of Canada's Stratford and Shaw Festivals
One could do worse than spend an evening at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre enjoying a performance of "Much Ado About Nothing." From the perfectly simple yet functional set, to the exceptionally good lighting and the sound of twittering birds as the sun goes down on the Italian Villa of Leonato, the mood is set for all manner of jocularity and tragedy.
The stage set evokes the grandeur of a villa in the italian countryside. With the spectacular lighting (at sunset) and birds chirping, one can completely forget one is in the city in the middle of winter.
Canada's Jim Mezon is a fabulous Benedick, striking the perfect balance between die-hard bachelor and would-be married man. His performance really captures Benedick's whimsical nature and core of moral fibre; he is the only man not to believe Don John's calumny without further proofs.
Another Canadian, Kelli Fox, gives us a mocking Beatrice who has begun to wonder if there is indeed a perfect man, or at the very least, one for her. She is perhaps a wee bit spinsterish, but powerful in her resolve to protect Hero and avenge her betrayal.
John Hoogenakker's Claudio is the typical feckless youth, easy to love and easy to scorn, while Susan Shunk's Hero is the whispy butterfly around whom the plot revolves.
Don John is always a difficult role to make plausible, but Sean Fortunato does a creditable job with a role that offers little meat but shallow villainy.
In contrast is Don Pedro, portrayed by James Vincent Meredith, whose beautiful mellow basso reinforces his mettle and the weight of his office. Yet he, too, believes John's slanders against Hero without giving her a chance to defend herself. As usual, one is hard put to decide whether the fault lies with John's villainy or the weakness of the men who are so quick to believe his lies. Reason doesn't enter into it.
Likewise is reason completely absent from Dogberry, whose portrayal by Scott Jaeck makes one laugh heartily, while acknowledging the perfidy of the English language. Yet his enunciation is crystal clear and the character so clearly defined that one thinks one has met him before... on the street or in the office perhaps.
Finally, while the costumes are beautifully researched and constructed, the choice of setting the play in the 1850's may have been ill advised, as the costumes of that period tend to make the women look too matronly. In this case, it makes one think of Beatrice as "over the hill" and desperate for a man, which isn't the case at all. However, the time is perfect for Dogberry, whose muttonchop whiskers and white spats serve to reinforce his ridiculousness.
One final comment on a subject that has always troubled me: why on earth does Hero consent to marry Claudio after his betrayal? Shakespeare apparently thinks that Claudio has learned his lesson and will now trust in Hero's virtue unquestionably. But what if he has cause to doubt again? Will it end with the murder of a wife, as with Othello? Perhaps Beatrice is indeed the wiser to choose no man but a man with sense.
Reviewed by Margarete Mandry, December 20, 2005.
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Sir John Gilbert, R.A.,
Beatrice and Benedick
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