DOCSLIB.ORG

Much Ado About Nothing

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Much Ado About Nothing A publication of the Shakespeare Theatre Company ASIDES 2011|2012 SEASON • Issue 2 Ethan McSweeny gives a Cuban flair to Much Ado About Nothing Becoming Benedick Christopher Plummer talks with Michael Kahn page 3 Derek Smith and Director Ethan McSweeny page 13 Celebrating 25 years of Classical Theatre A publication of the Shakespeare Theatre Company Dear Friend, How to Become a Benedick ASIDES Welcome to the second play of our Artistic Director Michael Kahn talks to Christopher Plummer 25th Anniversary Season, William about one of his most famous roles 3 How to Become a Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Benedick: Artistic Director Nothing. One of the most beloved plays Michael Kahn talks to in the Shakespearean canon, Much Christopher Plummer about one of his most Ado is one of the well-springs of romantic comedy, famous roles the first of countless works in the Western drama in which a pair of likeminded wits fight their way into 6 The Descendants of love. Beatrice and Benedick, the play’s avatars, are Beatrice and Benedick: Much Ado’s Influence remarkably human creations, and their genes can be Through the Ages found in every romantic comedy made to this day. by Laura Henry I was fortunate enough to sit and chat recently with 8 The Power of Noting in Much Ado About Nothing Christopher Plummer, one of the best of the Benedicks by Maurice Hunt in theatrical memory and the recipient of our Will Award in 1990. In this issue, Ethan McSweeny 9 Why Cuba? ¿Por Qué No? sits with his Benedick, Derek Smith, to discuss the 10 Play in Process upcoming production in which he joins fellow STC alum Kathryn Meisle (of The School for Scandal). 12 Much Ado About Nothing There are other surprises inside, including a trip down Cast and Artistic Team memory lane to some Much Ados of the past. 13 Much Ado About Something In addition to our mainstage season, we are bringing Director Ethan McSweeny a number of outstanding performances and artists talks with Derek Smith to Washington, D.C., this winter. From November 29 16 Close and Distant: to December 4, we will present Oscar-nominated A Journey to Cuba actor John Hurt in the Gate Theatre’s Krapp’s Last by Hannah J. Hessel Tape for one week only. On December 19, we will 18 Drew’s Desk host one of our ever-popular ReDiscovery readings by Drew Lichtenberg with a historic play, Egmont by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, which is all too little performed in the 20 Creative Conversations United States. We also continue our collaboration and Performance Calendar with the NT Live series—upcoming screenings include The Kitchen on December 6 and Collaborators on December 19. Finally, join us January 17 to March 4 for our mainstage presentation of The Two Gentlemen of Verona, directed by another former Associate Director, Lansburgh Theatre PJ Paparelli. 450 7th Street NW Washington, DC 20004-2207 I hope to see you at the theatre! Michael Kahn: So, I’m going to do this influence, and for the first time I was Sidney Harman Hall little interview with you to talk about able to find a trust in myself.” 610 F Street NW Best always, Washington, DC 20004-2207 Benedick. CP: Yes. I think that is about right. I mean, Box Office Christopher Plummer: Oh, I hope I can even some of the critics noticed it. You 202.547.1122 be entertaining. Michael Kahn remember old Henry Hughes? Administrative Offices Artistic Director, Shakespeare Theatre Company MK: Well you’re a famous Benedick. 516 8th Street SE MK: Yes, I do. Washington, DC 20003-2834 How many times have you done it? 202.547.3230 CP: He was one of the ones that said, at CP: Twice. One in England [at the Royal ShakespeareTheatre.org last he’s found his own, you know… he’s Shakespeare Company, in 1961] and one Asides.ShakespeareTheatre.org his own master now. in Stratford, Canada [at the Stratford Connect with Us! Shakespeare Festival, in 1958]. MK: What was it about the role that freed you up in that way? MK: You wrote about playing Benedick, that “It freed me from all outward Photo of Christopher Plummer as Benedick in The Stratford Shakespeare Festival’s 1958 production of Much Ado About Cover photo by Scott Suchman. Nothing by Peter Smith. Courtesy of The Stratford Shakespeare Festival Archives. 3 Much Ado About Nothing • 2011|2012 SEASON • Issue 2 Celebrating 25 years of Classical Theatre CP: It was Eileen Herlie [a Stratford and then he learns as he goes along, and Lewis Casson, both over 90 and Lewis was MK: And more mature in everything. company member], actually, who made he’s made human. She makes him human very, very deaf. They were sitting in the such a wonderful Beatrice. She suggested by picking out and showing him his back row of the festival theater, holding CP: And Benedick really just wants to this kind of landed gentry farm girl, shortcomings all through the piece. So, hands very sweetly, and during that go out and commit suicide, I mean, it’s she was strong and sophisticated. The by the time he’s sympathetic towards her, famous wedding scene, when Beatrice just awful. And suddenly, like I learned, director, Michael Langham, had set the it’s just before the wedding scene and he turns on me, you know that famous he’s got to change, he’s got to suddenly production in Ruritania, a kind of Austro- just changes completely. I don’t know, it’s speech—“Princes and counties!”—Eileen be the most real person on that stage, Hungarian period, in which—rather as if Shakespeare suddenly wrote a movie. screams at me. Then there’s a pause after and the most vulnerable. And then they like Kenneth Branagh’s movie—it was a The intimacy and simplicity and economy her tirade, and suddenly, a voice that come back and they flash at each other landed gentry farm, the county seat to of Benedick’s responses in that scene are could be heard to New York: Dame Sybil but it doesn’t work any more. And she which all the soldiers came back after the just so modern and so unbelievably now broke the silence by shouting at Lewis, recognizes it and feels great sympathy war. It was a lovely way of setting the play. that I just went with it. And I found that “I said, SHE’S GOT THE GUNS FOR IT, and loves him. Loves him. It wasn’t ultra sophisticated and it had Larry [Sir Laurence Olivier] and Ralph [Sir HASN’T SHE?” MK: That’s lovely. We just went into an earthy quality that was particularly Ralph Richardson] and all those people rehearsal. Much Ado director Ethan good for Beatrice. I think it was because who I had been influenced by so much (Laughter) McSweeny was doing Dangerous Liaisons up at Stratford while you were Eileen came on with such sort of smoke in the past weren’t necessary anymore. MK: Did you and Eileen ever discuss Prospero in The Tempest. and fire and brimstone, that I decided to I found my own way of coming on and what had happened with Beatrice and underplay Benedick. just obeying the language, which had to Benedick before the play? She says, “I CP: Oh, he’s so good! be obeyed, at least in terms of making it gave him my heart, a double heart for his single one.” Not in the first scene, because that has to sound contemporary and real. I learned a MK: Yeah, he’s doing Much Ado, and be a wonderful shouting match, but later hell of a lot from Benedick. we started rehearsal today. I’ll let Ethan on, Benedick changes. And I suddenly CP: They had met, as far as I’m concerned, listen to this because he’s very curious. realized that I didn’t have to work so I’ve got to tell you a funny little story. We but we didn’t really have much time to bloody hard, I could just go with the text. were doing a dress rehearsal, uninvited, talk about that, we just barreled in and CP: I think Ethan is just fantastic. did it. Michael [Langham], I think, was Because he has a wonderful arc. He tries except there were two old guests, Dame MK: You know, he was an apprentice to keep on this conceited line of thought, Sybil Thorndike and her husband, [Sir] influenced by Chekhov. It was part of this here, I’ve known him since he was 17. country society. It was Chekhovian in feeling. CP: Oh, I didn’t realize. MK: The country house and servants, MK: Oh yes, he started out as my intern, eating out under the trees. before he went to college. CP: Right. I thought that was lovely. CP: He survived even you! MK: What would you say to two MK: He survived me as an intern, he actors who are playing Beatrice and survived me as my assistant for four Benedick? What would you say are the years. So, he has a lot of courage in wonders of the play, and are there any addition to talent. pitfalls there? (Laughter) CP: I wouldn’t presume to give advice. The only thing I think one must remember Perhaps the greatest Shakespearean actor born is that Benedick must have a real self- in North America during the 20th century, deprecating heart in him to be able to Christopher Plummer is equally comfortable grow up, out of this tremendous poser, on stages in London, Broadway and his native Canada.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Erich Korngold Was One of History's Most
    Notes on the Program By James M. Keller, Program Annotator, The Leni and Peter May Chair Much Ado About Nothing Suite, Op. 11 Erich Korngold rich Korngold was one of history’s most was produced to astonished acclaim at the Eextraordinary prodigies, rivaled in the an - Vienna Court Opera. By then he had already nals of child composers only by Felix completed his Piano Trio (Op. 1) and he Mendelssohn and (arguably) Mozart. He was would momentarily finish his Piano Sonata born into a musical family: his father, Julius No. 2, which the pianist Artur Schnabel im - Korngold, was a noted music critic who be - mediately put into his concert repertoire. friended and then succeeded Eduard Two years later Korngold produced his Hanslick on the staff of Vienna’s Neue Freie Sonata for Violin and Piano; again, it was Presse . Music came naturally to him. His Schnabel who took up its cause, program - mother, asked later in life about when her ming it in joint recitals with the eminent vio - son began playing the piano, replied, “Erich linist Carl Flesch. Composers all over Europe always played the piano.” In fact, he never were awed by their young colleague: Richard had more than basic training on the instru - Strauss, Giacomo Puccini, Jean Sibelius, and ment (curiously, since his father could have many others scrambled for superlatives to opened doors to the most renowned studios describe what they heard. By the time Korn - in Vienna), but it’s not clear that regimented gold was 20 his orchestral works had been study would have improved what already played by the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra seemed to be absolute fluency at the key - (Arthur Nikisch conducting) and the Vienna board.
    [Show full text]
  • Much Ado About Nothing” – Lecture/Class
    “REVENGE IN SHAKESPEARE’S PLAYS” “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING” – LECTURE/CLASS WRITTEN: In the second half of 1598 or 99 -- no later because the role of Dogberry was sometimes replaced by the name of “Will Kemp”, the actor who always played the role; Kemp left the Lord Chamberlain’s Men in 1599. AGE: 34-35 Years Old (B.1564-D.1616) CHRONO: Seventh in the line of Comedies after “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, “The Comedy of Errors”, “Taming of the Shrew”, “Love’s Labours Lost”, “A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream”, “The Merchant of Venice”. QUARTO: A Quarto edition of the play appeared in 1600. GENRE: “Tragicomic” SOURCE: “Completely and entirely unhistorical” VERSION: The play is “Shakespeare’s earliest version of the more serious story of the man who mistakenly believes his partner has been unfaithful to him”. (“Othello” for one.) SUCCESS: There are no records of early performances but there are “allusions to its success.” HIGHLIGHT: The comedy was revived in 1613 for a Court performance at Whitehall before King James, his daughter Princess Elizabeth and her new husband in May 1613. AFTER: Oddly, the play was “performed only sporadically until David Garrick’s acclaimed revival in 1748”. CRITICS: 1891 – A.B. Walkley: “a composite picture of the multifarious, seething, fermenting life, the polychromatic phantasmagoria of the Renaissance.” 1905 – George Bernard Shaw: “a hopeless story, pleasing only to lovers of the illustrated police papers BENEDICTS: Anthony Quayle, John Gielgud, Michael Redgrave, Donald Sinden BEATRICES: Peggy Ashcroft, Margaret Leighton, Judi Dench, Maggie Smith RECENT: There was “a boost in recent fortunes with the well-received 1993 film version directed by Kenneth Branagh and starring Branagh and Emma Thompson.” SETTING: Messina in northeastern Sicily at the narrow strait separating Sicily from Italy.
    [Show full text]
  • A Teacher's Guide to Much Ado About Nothing
    A TEACHER’S GUIDE TO THE SIGNET CLASSIC EDITION OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE’S MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING By JEANNE M. McGLINN, Ph.D., AND JAMES E. McGLINN, Ed.D. SERIES EDITORS: W. GEIGER ELLIS, ED.D., UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA, EMERITUS and ARTHEA J. S. REED, PH.D., UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA, RETIRED A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classic Edition of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing 2 INTRODUCTION Love, villainy, friendship, parent-child relationships, society and customs—Much Ado About Nothing touches on all of these. It presents a rich, ambiguous blend of life's relationships, folly, and catastrophe. Shakespeare introduces us to a group of people who have a past with each other that is immediately apparent as soon as Beatrice asks the messenger if all the soldiers are returned from the war. This is not a casual inquiry. Beatrice's question marks feelings that she does not yet comprehend. She and Benedick are attracted to each other but do not know how to deal with these feelings. The relationship of Beatrice and Benedick is counterpoised to the more traditional relationship of Hero and Claudio. Claudio, having returned from the war, now has the leisure and desire to marry Hero. He is concerned about her social (and economic) position and how others perceive her. He asks Benedick what he thinks. He also allows the Duke to intervene on his behalf, to approach the lady and her father with his suit. He is a proper if somewhat distant lover. Meanwhile Hero is cautioned by her father to obey his will when it comes to the choice of a husband.
    [Show full text]
  • Much Ado About Nothing
    ASF Study Materials for by William Shakespeare Director Greta Lambert Study Materials written by: Susan Willis Set Design Robert F. Wolin ASF Dramaturg Costume Design Jeffrey Todhunter [email protected] Lighting Design Tom Rodman Contact ASF: 1.800.841.4273 Sound Design Will Burns www.asf.net 1 Welcome to Much Ado about Nothing The war may be over, but the battle of the Cupid's arrows strike far and wide, but that by William Shakespeare sexes is blazing away in Shakespeare's brilliant does not make the course of true love any easier. romantic comedy Much Ado about Nothing. In fact, love is beset and suborned in Much Characters in the ASF Tour Written about 1598, Shakespeare is at the top Ado before it can be confessed or confirmed. The Spanish-led contingent: of his comedic form, and Much Ado is one of his If Shakespeare strews the path of comedy with Don Pedro, the ruling Spanish three great romantic comedies from that period, pitfalls and problems to be overcome—and he lord along with As You Like It and Twelfth Night. does—he is true to form here. These lovers Don John, his illegitimate With a text that is 75% prose, the play and undergo some deep self-evaluation before half-brother, a malcontent its wit move very quickly, full of banter, badinage, they can celebrate their mutual affection or Benedick, a lord ifrom Padua n and buffoonery. Language well used, misused, their nuptials. Don Pedro's company and even comically abused fills its dialogue, Claudio, a young lord from and truth confronts both deception and lies in the standoff between honor and love.
    [Show full text]
  • And Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
    Fallen Angels, New Women, and Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing: Modern Stereotypes in the Elizabethan Era Stacy Pifer Dr. Emily Leverett Department of English and Writing In many of Shakespeare’s plays, gender issues make appearances in a variety of ways. Some of his plays, such as Twelfth Night and Merchant of Venice, are known for showing audiences the ways in which gender roles can be reversed in order to achieve some end, whether romantic or political in nature. Shakespeare also often addresses gender stereotypes, such as the submissive wife or daughter, the macho soldier, or the stoic king, and he frequently satirizes the proper behavior for men and women, as his characters tend to break the mold of expected societal manners. Those who analyze Shakespeare’s works can easily find and discuss these types of gender-related issues, but taking more modern literary characterizations into account can yield interesting results as well. By studying Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing through the lens of nineteenth and early twentieth century gender stereotypes, readers can see how the archetypes of the Fallen Woman and the New Woman can be applied to and seen in the characters Hero and Beatrice, respectively. “Fallen Woman” is a term used to describe certain women in the society and literature of the Victorian era. The Fallen Woman typically began on a pedestal as the morally upright and virtuous “Angel in the House,” who, according to Barbara Welter, was judged on the basis of her “piety, purity, submissiveness, and domesticity” (152). This angel of a woman was seen as the ideal, the gold standard of femininity and a proper wife.
    [Show full text]
  • “Father, As It Please You”: the Problems of Patriarchy in Much Ado About Nothing
    “Father, As It Please You”: The Problems of Patriarchy in Much Ado About Nothing Christa Wilson English Faculty Advisor: Dr. Paige Reynolds In his renowned comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare sheds a critical light on the many failings of the authoritarian patriarchal structure of Renaissance society. By exploring the theme of honor and the unreliability of appearances, the play examines the significant discrepancies between societal treatment of men and women in early modern England. In doing so, the play exposes the ways in which the patriarchal system that endows men with greater privileges merely because they are male ultimately fails to ensure justice for those excluded from the masculine hierarchy. Much Ado repeatedly calls attention to the deficiencies of England’s patriarchal system through its depiction of the problems created by the inconsistent standards of honor set in place for early modern men and women. For the male characters of the play, the concept of honor is closely linked to each man’s ability to construct and maintain for himself an appearance of social dignity and respectability among his peers, whether it be due to social status, military CLA Journal 5 (2017) pp. 60 Wilson achievement, virtuous behavior, or some other factor. Consequently, a man must always be “consciously keeping up appearances, patrolling social perimeters, and fabricating civility” if he is seeking to build and preserve his good name (Greenblatt 1397). An inherent difficulty with a system so dependent upon outward appearances, however, is that appearances are not always the best indicators of reality. Beatrice points this out when, upon being told by a messenger that Benedict is “stuffed with all honorable virtues,” she skeptically retorts: “But for the stuffing—well, we are all mortal,” implying that despite his honorable reputation, Benedict is still susceptible to human frailty (1.1.45-6, 47-8).
    [Show full text]
  • Dogberryisms / Malapropisms (Or Miss-Marple-Isms*)
    Dogberryisms / Malapropisms (or Miss-Marple-isms*) * A malapropism for ʻmalapropismʼ (see New Scientist, June 2005, as quoted on Wikipedia) Constable Dogberry in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (1600) claims: ‘Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons’ (3.5.44) Constable Dogberry in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (1600) claims: ‘Our watch, sir, have indeed comprehended two auspicious persons’ (3.5.44) Constable Dogberry in Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing (1600) claims: ‘Our watch, sir, have indeed apprehended two suspicious persons’ (3.5.44) In Act 3 Scene III of Sheridan's The Rivals (1775), Mrs Malaprop declares to Captain Absolute: "Sure, if I reprehend any thing in this world it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!" In Act 3 Scene III of Sheridan's The Rivals (1775), Mrs Malaprop declares to Captain Absolute: "Sure, if I reprehend any thing in this world it is the use of my oracular tongue, and a nice derangement of epitaphs!" In Act 3 Scene III of Sheridan's The Rivals (1775), Mrs Malaprop declares to Captain Absolute: "Sure, if I apprehend any thing in this world it is the use of my vernacular tongue, and a nice arrangement of epithets!" You will promise to forget this fellow – illiterate him, I say, quite from your memory. She's as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of the Nile. I would have her instructed in geometry, that she might know something of the contagious countries. He is the very pineapple of politeness! (Mrs Malaprop, The Rivals) You will promise to forget this fellow – obliterate him, I say, quite from your memory.
    [Show full text]
  • About the Books About the Author
    Throughout history, book clubs have served as a forum for great minds to come together to share and discuss literature, as well as current events and issues. The Socratic circles, Ben Franklin’s Junto Club, Stratford-on-Odeon, The Algonquin Round Table, and Oprah’s Book Club are just a few famous ones. It doesn’t matter if your book club is seriously academic, highly social, or anything in between, recommend reading a classic next time! Classic literature is filled with gorgeous writing, complex plots, unforgettable characters along-side social and political issues that are still relevant today, making them great options for both fun and meaningful discussions. We’re here to help your book club tackle the literary canon with our Macmillan Collectors Library Book Club Guides to the Classics. About the Books Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare Whilst Beatrice and Benedick both despise love, exchanging insults and mockery rather than vows, for Hero and Claudio it is love at first sight. But as their marriage preparations begin, so too do Don John’s dirty tricks. Can his scheming get in the way of true love? And can an elaborate plan to bring fiery Beatrice and cynical Benedick closer together really come off? In Much Ado About Nothing one of Shakespeare’s most popular plays, nothing is quite what it seems. ISBN: 978-1-50-988977-8 The Tempest by William Shakespeare Prospero has long been exiled from Italy and banished to a remote island with his daughter Miranda. He uses his magical powers to conjure up a fearsome storm, and his enemies, including his treacherous brother Antonio, are shipwrecked.
    [Show full text]
  • Much Ado About Nothing Responses
    1 Much Ado About Nothing Responses to Preparing for the Film 1. Viewers preparing to see a Shakespeare production often express concern that they will not understand Shakespeare's language. This film will pleasantly surprise such viewers because the diction is so clear. Students may also expect elaborate costumes of the Elizabethan period but be pleased to see clothing and sets that reflect their own time period. Some students may fear that they will be bored by Shakespeare's subject matter and long speeches, only to discover that they are immediately engaged and amused by the quick pace and relevant issues--love, sex, rivalry, romantic relationships, and fear of commitment. Students may also be surprised that this film is shot in black and white, but Joss Whedon explained that he admires the "timeless elegance" of black and white and wanted to create a "classic film noir" effect to distinguish his film from the sunny, brightly-colored look of Kenneth Branagh's 1993 production. 2. Students familiar with current "romcoms" will easily supply characteristics of the genre: male-female attraction develops, obstacles to their union emerge, a battle of wits often erupts, characters need to grow in self-awareness, friends often intervene or take sides, the relationship is tested, and crises evolve and get resolved, to varying degrees. Shakespeare doubles the intrigue here by focusing on two couples whose relationships contrast but also are fundamentally connected. For further discussion of the characteristics and history of romantic comedies and to see an analysis of Beatrice and Benedick's relationship, see David Denby's "A Fine Romance" in the New Yorker on July 23, 2007 (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/07/23/070723fa_fact_denby).
    [Show full text]
  • FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Linor Nulman 1-(408)-888-4153
    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Linor Nulman 1-(408)-888-4153 [email protected] @linornulman Fairleigh Dickinson University to Produce SHE LOVES ME (MADSION, NJ- November 9, 2015)—Fairleigh Dickinson University students in the Visual and Performing Arts Department will be performing the Theatre Department’s latest production, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick’s musical comedy, SHE LOVES ME. Amalia and Georg, employees in a perfumery in Budapest loathe each other. To escape the reality of working together they turn to a romantic pen pal exchanges until they realize that they have been writing to each other. SHE LOVES ME is an enchanting jewel-box of a musical, from the songwriting team behind FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. This wonderfully scented case of mistaken identity and love letters transports the audience to 1930’s Budapest, Hungary, full of love, laughter, and perfume. The show features 21 Fairleigh Dickinson University student performers, including Chris Lorenc as Georg Nowack, Jenna Cormey as Amalia Balash, Dennis Summerville as Steven Kodaly and Jessica Milne as Ilona Ritter. The production will take place in the Dreyfuss Theatre located at Fairleigh Dickinson University College of Florham Campus. The opening performance will take place on October 2 at 8:00 p.m. Additional performance dates are as follows: December 3 at 7 p.m., December 4 at 8 p.m. December 5 at 8 p.m., and October 6 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are priced at $6 for students, Fairleigh Dickinson community and senior citizens. Tickets for all other attendees are $12. For more information call (973)-443-8644.
    [Show full text]
  • Much Ado About Nothing Wiki Summary
    Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero. From Wikipedia Benedick and Beatrice are engaged in a very "merry war"; they are both very glib and proclaim their scorn for love, marriage, and each other. In contrast, Claudio and Hero are sweet young people who are rendered practically speechless by their love for one another. By means of "noting" (which sounds the same as "nothing," and which is gossip, rumour, and overhearing), Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into rejecting Hero at the altar. However, Dogberry, a Constable who is a master of malapropisms, discovers the evil trickery of the villain, Don John. In the end, Don John is captured and everyone else joins in a dance celebrating the marriages of the two couples. • Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon: A praises his singing, Benedick calls kind, good Prince who helps him a "cat who sounds as if Claudio win Hero. It was very someone is killing it." common for the superiors of that • Don John, "the Bastard Prince," time to find suitable wives for their brother of Don Pedro and the main men. He later helps Claudio disgrace villain. Hero when he believes that she is • Borachio and Conrade, followers unfaithful and he also tricks of Don John: They are the ones who Benedick and Beatrice to fall in actually initiate the plot to frame love. Hero as an adulteress. Borachio, • Benedick, of Padua; companion of who is in a relationship with Don Pedro: A sarcastic, witty Margaret, gets her into Hero's bachelor who swears he will never clothes and makes love to her on the marry, he later falls in love with balcony window, in full sight of Beatrice when he is tricked into Don John, Don Pedro, and Claudio.
    [Show full text]
  • Mado-Disc Copy.Guide
    DISCOVERY GUIDE 2008 Much Ado About Nothing Directed by Robert Currier Scenic Design: Bruce Lackovic Costume Design: Michael A. Berg Lighting Design: Ellen Brooks Sound Design: Billie Cox Discovery Guide written by Education Director Kate Magill www.marinshakespeare.org Welcome to the Discovery Guide for Much Ado About Nothing!! Introduction---------------------------------------------------- Marin Shakespeare Company is so pleased to offer you this opportunity to see one of Shakespeare’s liveliest comedies on-stage and out-of-doors, as Shakespeare’s audiences would have seen them! As one of Shakespeare’s most accessible comedies, this show is a great introduction to ‘the Bard’ for students who are new to Shakespeare and a fun-filled re- introduction for students who have developed the ‘Shakespeare Yucks.’ For those already enchanted by Shakespeare’s works, this play is guaranteed to delight, as the master-storyteller has provided us with a story which is both touching and uproariously funny. However you come to this production, there is much to be said for a little preparation before the performance! This DISCOVERY GUIDE is intended to provide you with some background on the play, some explanations of characters and plot lines and some pre- and post-show activities, exercises and discussion questions for further deepening your theatre-going experience! Let us know if this DISCOVERY GUIDE is helpful ([email protected])! Enjoy! Contents---------------------------------------------------------- PAGE 1 -- Discover: the origins
    [Show full text]