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Much Ado About Nothing
nytheatre.com review
Heather McAllister · November 7, 2009
Jonathan Emerson, the director of Much Ado About Nothing or The Real World: Messina calls his production a "hot mess." His feeling, as expressed in his program notes, is that the circumstances and characters of Much Ado are relatable to what we see in our own living rooms everyday on TV. While reality TV is driven by gossip, slander, and scandal, the key word in any production, no matter how broadly performed, should be reality. This sordid reality TV interpretation, while succeeding at being a hot mess, has very little reality to offer.
Much Ado is a fun play, focusing on the ideals of social grace, the use of deception for good and evil, and the importance of honor. If you need one, here's a synopsis.
The production opens with a video montage of "Real World: Messina," accompanied by 1980s music. The montage is meant to introduce the characters and their points of view. As the montage ends, two cameramen follow the cast onstage, projecting their shaky, dizzying images on two large TV screens at the proscenium's edge. Watching the shaky camera work left me a little queasy, yet much of the action is performed solely for the cameras, so unfortunately, much is lost.
I wished for stage pictures to help tell the story, beyond the close-ups of the actors crouched down looking at the floor, or the couch sprawling/lounging that comprises most of the blocking.
I am curious why the uncredited costume design isn't used to help define character; for example: the virtuous Hero's dress is hiked up so far we all see her underpants; the Prince Don Pedro is dressed in t-shirt jeans and Adidas for the wedding ceremony; and strangest of all, the lovely Heidi Zenz, who makes a fine Ursula, with a clear voice and bearing, is double cast as Verges, dressed as if she escaped from an episode of Scooby Doo, Where Are You! complete with large fedora, giant men's overcoat, and magnifying glass.
The comedy is played broad and the styles of the actors wildly vary, from Saved by the Bell-ish groan-inducing sitcom, to Nathan Lane-level exuberant, exhilarating farce.
My hands-down favorite in the company is Dogberry, as played by Lawrence Lesher. Lesher is completely delightful! His every appearance lifts the play to the highest level. His skill and timing, embodiment and portrayal of Dogberry are completely sincere, connected to the material, and hysterically funny! Every nuance, every word, every look from Lesher made me smile or laugh heartily. In short, he is wonderful.
Other standouts are Patrick Mahoney, double cast as Antonio and Friar Francis. His rich voice and strong, grounded performance brings depth and honor to his roles. Daniel Koenig makes a properly conflicted Claudio, and Andrew Stephen Johnson's Don John is intriguing.
Good as these individual performances are, the hot mess wins out, and The Real World: Messina could use a reshoot.
This page updated Saturday, November 21, 2009 8:02 AM
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