ENTERTAINMENT

Shakespeare Theatre presents ‘Much Ado About Nothing’

C.W. WALKER
CORRESPONDENT

Every year, the good folks at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey in Madison are faced with the same dilemma: what to present for a holiday offering to close off the year. If only Will Shakespeare had written a Christmas-themed play, but alas! The closest he ever came was putting “winter” in a title.

So every December, the company either chooses an off-beat, non-Shakespearean, not-done-to-death production, or adapts one of the Bard’s plays to the season. Both strategies have enjoyed mixed results.

Perhaps that’s why the current production of “Much Ado About Nothing” comes as such a pleasant and welcome surprise. It was truly inspired of director Scott Wentworth to give the play a World War II setting. Of course, “Much Ado About Nothing” is an extremely flexible work and has been adapted to all sorts of time periods. Most recently, a modern re-telling was staged at director Joss Whedon’s house in Hollywood with a bunch of his famous friends.

But World War II places “Much Ado” in the era of screwball comedies, when men were men and women were dames and snappy patter exchanged rapid-fire was all the rage. Wentworth has adopted that attitude and those rhythms to Shakespeare’s parallel stories of two couples, one young and one…errr… seasoned, and the result works like a charm.

The centerpiece of “Much Ado,” a work from Shakespeare’s middle period, is the romance and engagement of Claudio, a high-ranking officer stationed in a foreign land with Hero, the only daughter of a local wealthy governor. Claudio can be a real stick in the mud, especially when he’s fooled into believing that his bride-to-be is an unfaithful wench. In this production, Charles Pasternak manages to make Claudio more naïve than prim, which is all to the good. How any guy could reject Susan Maris’ bubbly and playful Hero is anyone’s guess.

But the real attraction of the play — the big shiny ornament on the tree as it were — is the relationship between her wise and independent cousin, Beatrice, and the wry, confirmed bachelor Benedict. Wentworth does double-duty as director and star, snagging the lead for himself. And he’s perfectly matched by Marion Adler as Beatrice because, not so incidentally, Adler is Wentworth’s real-life spouse. The two have been appearing together, often in Shakespearean productions, for decades, and it shows. Here, they come off as a sort of Debbie Reynolds/Humphrey Bogart combo.

Yes, there is plenty of verbal jousting between them, but their comfort with each other and genuine affection comes through in multiple ways that are both entertaining and satisfying. The time period also adds real heft to Beatrice’s frustration in not being in a position to defend her friend’s honor and her heartfelt wish to take on the self-righteous men.

Translating the dukes and counts into American army officers also works out just fine even if the petty villainy of Don John (Michael Stewart Allen) is given rather short-shrift. Wentworth has filled the roles with company veterans with whom he’s worked before and this, too, pays off. The always dependable Jeffrey M. Bender is actually rather restrained in the comic role of Dogberry (here, a clueless leader of the local Civilian Defense Corps), but he is ably aided and abetted by Conan McCarty as Verges, his assistant, whose timing is hilariously impeccable. Ralph Nash Thompson provides a solid governor/father; John Hickock, a decent, well-meaning Don Pedro, and Andy Patterson a good-hearted local priest.

Rachel Fox, Victoria Nassif, Christine Sanders, Austin Blunk, James Costello and Travis Johnson offer solid support in the minor roles. Michael Ganio’s scenery is atmospheric if minimal, but the real delight is Candida Nichols’ period costumes, authentic right down to the lines in the nylon stockings.

Wentworth also bookends the action in a way that I won’t spoil here. Suffice to say that it introduces yet another interpretive dimension to the story, one that is both haunting and affecting.

If you’re looking for a little holiday cheer that’s a little more mature and nuanced than the usual Santa and Scrooge pageants, spend an evening with “Much Ado About Nothing.” You’ll be glad you did.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

WHAT: Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey

WHEN: Through Dec. 28

WHERE: F.M. Kirby Shakespeare Theatre, 36 Madison Ave., Madison

TICKETS: $32 to $62

INFO: 973-408-5600 or www.ShakespeareNJ.org.