Grade: A-
The multi-directional romance of William Shakespeare's “Much Ado About Nothing” is realized with entertaining vigor by the Auburn Players Community Theatre in its current production at Cayuga Community College. Though the show drags at a couple points, a handful of lively performances pull it through with delight.
The oil rig in the background of the stage set and the contemporary costumes of the characters suggest a modern transplanting of Shakespeare's Victorian-era play. Director Jamie Bruno told The Citizen last week that the Players' production took place in the late 1960s, but nothing in the Auburn Players' “Much Ado” program qualifies this change of setting. While those details may prove a mild point of confusion, the story remains essentially the same nonetheless.
Prince Don Pedro (Robert Frame) comes to Messina with his companions, Benedick (Simon Moody) and Claudio (Shaminda Amarakoon), and illegitimate brother, Don John (Gabriel Infantino). As Claudio prepares to take the hand of the governor's daughter, Hero (Alicia Frame) in marriage, the two plot to match up the commitment-wary Benedick with Hero's equally wary cousin, Beatrice (Elizabeth Dapo). Complicating the courtships is Don John's jealousy of his brother's companions, which takes devastating form for the young lovers.
Moody and Dapo each invigorate their characters with winsome presence to sustain “Much Ado's” core romantic tension. Watching the pair squabble and defensively dance around their feelings for each other is rightly the highlight of the Players' production. Dapo's portrayal of Beatrice as a less innocuous character than other incarnations reflects director Jamie Bruno's stated focus on the darker sides of the show's characters. Frame brings a charming, but benevolent air to Don Pedro, and Jack Sherman amuses with mercurial facial expressions and nervous doting as Messina's governor, Leonato.
The only weaknesses of the Players' “Much Ado” were the poor projection of a few supporting players, a few slow points - particularly toward the end of the show - and the costumes, which were both unremarkable and unexplainable. But making much ado of these faults is to overlook what's otherwise a largely enjoyable classic romantic comedy.
David Wilcox
253-5311 ext. 245
david.wilcox@lee.net
What: “Much Ado About Nothing”
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3
Where: Irene Bisgrove Theater, Cayuga Community College, 197 Franklin St., Auburn
Cost: $12 for adults, $10 for students; $2 off for groups of 10 or more
Info: Call 406-7435
The oil rig in the background of the stage set and the contemporary costumes of the characters suggest a modern transplanting of Shakespeare's Victorian-era play. Director Jamie Bruno told The Citizen last week that the Players' production took place in the late 1960s, but nothing in the Auburn Players' “Much Ado” program qualifies this change of setting. While those details may prove a mild point of confusion, the story remains essentially the same nonetheless.
Prince Don Pedro (Robert Frame) comes to Messina with his companions, Benedick (Simon Moody) and Claudio (Shaminda Amarakoon), and illegitimate brother, Don John (Gabriel Infantino). As Claudio prepares to take the hand of the governor's daughter, Hero (Alicia Frame) in marriage, the two plot to match up the commitment-wary Benedick with Hero's equally wary cousin, Beatrice (Elizabeth Dapo). Complicating the courtships is Don John's jealousy of his brother's companions, which takes devastating form for the young lovers.
Moody and Dapo each invigorate their characters with winsome presence to sustain “Much Ado's” core romantic tension. Watching the pair squabble and defensively dance around their feelings for each other is rightly the highlight of the Players' production. Dapo's portrayal of Beatrice as a less innocuous character than other incarnations reflects director Jamie Bruno's stated focus on the darker sides of the show's characters. Frame brings a charming, but benevolent air to Don Pedro, and Jack Sherman amuses with mercurial facial expressions and nervous doting as Messina's governor, Leonato.
The only weaknesses of the Players' “Much Ado” were the poor projection of a few supporting players, a few slow points - particularly toward the end of the show - and the costumes, which were both unremarkable and unexplainable. But making much ado of these faults is to overlook what's otherwise a largely enjoyable classic romantic comedy.
David Wilcox
253-5311 ext. 245
david.wilcox@lee.net
What: “Much Ado About Nothing”
When: 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, May 1 and 2; 2 p.m. Sunday, May 3
Where: Irene Bisgrove Theater, Cayuga Community College, 197 Franklin St., Auburn
Cost: $12 for adults, $10 for students; $2 off for groups of 10 or more
Info: Call 406-7435
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