Much Ado About Nothing performed by the Marin Shakespeare Company

Performances run until Sunday, July 28th, 2024

The Marin Shakespeare Company’s (MSC) "Much Ado About Nothing" is a renowned comedic play written by William Shakespeare. Set in Messina, the plot revolves around the witty war of words between Beatrice and Benedick, two sharp-tongued individuals who claim to despise love. The play also features a more serious storyline involving Claudio and Hero, whose relationship is threatened by deception and misunderstandings orchestrated by the villainous Don John. Through intricate wordplay, mistaken identities, and comic coincidences, Shakespeare explores themes of love, honor, deception, and societal expectations.

With the MSC’s version I came away steeped in the spirit of mischief, mayhem, magic and humor of "Much Ado About Nothing" which remains a popular and beloved work in the realm of comedic theater.

Director’s Notes

Ah, this play holds so much! Puppy love, broken hearts, virtuosic verbal sparring, bumbling constables, deep fakes, true love, restorative justice, and a toast to the future. Much Ado sparkles with wit and hilarity, and yet there is also a dark underbelly to this play. At its heart lies a betrayal deep, vicious, initiated by a terrible lie.

Director’s Notes Continued…

We might, dare I say, have a passive relationship with the truth right now. Our shared understanding of the truth shapes our spaces and our communities, and what we once took for granted as irrefutable is being tested in ways we couldn’t imagine even a decade ago. As technology, AI, and all its iterations begin to dramatically shape our views and ideas of what is true, we’re going to need to develop muscle and capacity, resisting the urge to surrender our agency so easily to what we see on our social feeds. Our take on this play demands that we enter into that sticky relationship with the truth, wrestle with it, and in so doing connect more deeply with our ‘true’ selves and by extension our family, our communities.

Director’s Notes Continued…

The lie in the play spawns trauma and violence, yet also sets the stage for true love and forgiveness to come forward. Forgiveness, it has been said, is a fervent belief in the future. It has muscularity, passion, and requires all of our creative thinking. It’s messy, has teeth, and is an ongoing choice. I’m hoping our Much Ado not only celebrates the humor, hilarity, and love that this play sparkles with, but also models an action of forgiveness that lifts up new thinking and breaks the binary of trauma and revenge.

Domenique Lozano (Director)

Don’t miss Much Ado About Nothing

Here is a gem of a company entirely deserving of our support, so I urge you to go out and see ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’ It’s entirely worth your while. Bring layers. Cushions are available to rent for a dollar, ensuring you come away with much richer memories than the temperature and how achy your butt is!

Photos by Jay Yamada. With permission by the Marin Shakespeare Company.