By JULES SHINKLE
BG Independent News
They say that all is fair in love and war – in Shakespeare, battle itself is an expression of love.
Horizon Youth Theatre is putting on Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” this weekend (Dec. 12-14) under the direction of Cassie Greenlee. Performances will be held at the First United Methodist Church in Bowling Green. Friday and Saturday’s shows begin at 7 p.m., and Sunday’s matinee is at 2 p.m. Click here to purchase tickets.
“Much Ado About Nothing” is the archetypal “enemies to lovers” comedy wherein its protagonists, Benedick (Fox Roberts-Zibbel) and Beatrice (Kelsey Fecht), turn their passionate disdain for each other into romantic love. While the script remains largely unchanged, HYT’s production has a holiday twist: the set is decked with boughs of holly.
The play is set into motion with the arrival of the prince Don Pedro (Eve Barman) and his two soldiers Claudio (Liam Rogel) and Benedick. The city’s governor, Signora Leonata (Violet Grossman) welcomes the three and introduces them to her daughter, Hero (Juliet Erekson).
Claudio is immediately sent head over heels for Hero and requests the help of his companions to help woo her. At a masquerade ball (though here envisioned more as a Christmas party with masks), Don Pedro passes himself off as Claudio and wins Hero’s affections.
Benedick unwittingly bumps into Beatrice, who stokes the flames of their war with some needling. The two have a history of trying to goad each other with witty insults and provocations – what Leonata sees as “a skirmish of wit.” Both have sworn off the idea of marriage, but their friends have other plans in store.
Beatrice’s companions gossip amongst themselves, deliberately in earshot of Beatrice, that Benedick secretly harbors love for her. Benedick’s friends play the same trick, but reversed. The two are thrilled by the prospect and consider burying the hatchet.
Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother, Don John (Owen Close), orchestrates a plot to turn Claudio against Hero by having a henchman pretend to be another of her suitors. Planting seeds of doubt, Claudio takes the bait hook, line and sinker.
In a catastrophic wedding scene, Claudio publicly humiliates Hero for her supposed disloyalty. Outrage ensues. Focused on clearing Hero’s name, Benedick and Beatrice put aside their quarrels and confess their mutual love. Beatrice insists that there is only one way to right the situation: kill Claudio.
Shakespeare’s florid writing can sometimes prove impenetrable to modern audiences. With this cast, however, nothing is lost in translation – the actors wield the language confidently. The company’s last foray into Shakespeare, summer of 2023’s “ShakeSPLOSION!!!”, has no doubt prepared them.
Benedick and Beatrice’s playful banter is endlessly enjoyable. It’s easy to see why everyone around them sees their love as inevitable – the two are obsessed with one another. After the cards are finally laid out and Benedick has confessed his affections, Beatrice sums up their relationship in a single question: “For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in love with me?”
Though Claudio and Hero’s love is impeded by much ado, Benedick and Beatrice flourish in fussing with each other. Peace is declared in the end, but it’s doubtful that the two will ever stop taking playful jabs.
