Some historians suggest the title of Shakespeare's romantic comedy Much Ado About Nothing is misspelled. Their research suggests it was actually called Much Ado About Noting ( emphasis added ) .
Playwright: William Shakespeare. At: First Folio Shakespeare Festival at Mayslake Peabody Estate, 31st St. and Route 83, Oak Brook. Phone: 630-986-8067; $21-$26 Runs through: Aug. 17. Photo by D. Rice.
The second title makes sense since so many of characters in the play make wild assumptions after noting what others deceptively show and tell them. It's for the better in the case of sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick, and for the worse when Claudio is tricked into believing that his fiancée, Hero, is unfaithful.
One should also note that Chicago has been festooned with Much Ado productions this summer. On the non-traditional end, there's a hip-hop adaptation at Chicago Shakespeare Theater and a gender-bending one courtesy of the touring GroundUp Theatre.
If those approaches sound too weird for you, head out to the suburbs to see First Folio Shakespeare Festival's enjoyably traditional and well-acted outdoor Much Ado staging. It's the last summer Much Ado production out of the gate, following a now-closed outdoor version by Oak Park Festival Theatre. Interestingly enough, both have been set in the early 1800s.
It's an appropriate choice by director Michael F. Goldberg. Much Ado has been much adored by feminists since its primary comic heroine, Beatrice, more than holds her own intellectually against the men without resorting to deceptive drag ( like Viola in Twelfth Night or Rosalind in As You Like It ) or physical violence ( Kate in Taming of the Shrew ) . As an added bonus in the production, Melissa Carlson's lovely Beatrice embodies the wit and appearance of a tart-tongued Jane Austen heroine.
Other decisions by Goldberg are a tad questionable. Both actors portraying Benedick ( Nick Sandys ) and the prince Don Pedro ( Dominic Green ) use British-sounding accents, which isn't consistent with the rest of the cast ( though if Goldberg was aiming for them alone to sound haughty and affected to reflect their high status, it's appropriate ) .
If you want to get too politically correct, you'll get uneasy at Goldberg's decision to cast Ben Whiting, the only actor in the show with a dark complexion, as Don Pedro's villainous bastard brother Don John. Whiting's performance is solid, but you do wonder why he had to be paired with that role in the production's sole instance of color-blind casting.
These quibbles aside, First Folio's Much Ado is a delight, from the pre-show clowning of Keland Scher as Verges ( exaggerated comic Italian accent and all ) to the final invitation to Don Pedro to join in the merriment of a happy marriage celebration.
Make a mental note of the beautiful Regency-era clothing by costumer Elsa Hiltner; laugh at John Reeger's bumbling Dogberry; and savor Sandy's Benedick and Carlson's Beatrice getting tricked from being at loggerheads to becoming lovers.