Review of Much Ado About Nothing

           Yesterday, my class went to see Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at the CSC theater in Manhattan. It blew me away. The way each actor was so enthusiastic about their character made the play really enjoyable. The stage itself was really interesting also--it was round and small, with strange spherical mounds of some material I couldn't identify suspended above it. I highly recommend it to any Shakespeare fans or fans of humor in general. There was a lot of both slapstick and dialogued humor, and the combination worked itself out really well.

           The director made a decision that I think was really smart, which was to set the play in the 1920s. I thought this was a wise choice because the play is a comedy, and in general very jolly. In the 1920s, at least before the stock market crash, everybody was partying and celebrating a new era to come. Throughout the play, there was drinking, partying, dancing, etc. Also, what made this a good idea was that it let the female characters express themselves more, to be as silly as they were feeling. They wore flapper dresses and flirted all the time. In Shakespeare's time period, women wouldn't be allowed to sing in public or wear anything but ankle-length dresses all day. It was a much more gender-based society when Shakespeare was alive, and to have the play be a comedy, I think it was easier for the director and actors to be funny in a fun time period.

         The one thing about the play I didn't like was the fact that it never explained to the audience why Don Jon is so evil. They never talked about why he never wanted people to get married and caused so much mischief. I think that the audience should always have some understanding of why the villain is villainous. Other than that, I loved the play. It was funny, romantic, and not too challenging to keep up with. I encourage my readers to look into the play and theater because I totally enjoyed myself.