“Much Ado About…” So Much

By Wes Hessel with Beth Tomas

Chicago Shakespeare on Navy Pier is at it again, delivering The Bard’s best. This time the play is “Much Ado About Nothing”, but in their production, there is much about everything, starting with a striking minimalist stage jutting into the audience – the design in the back of the set mimics the theater, enticing the watchers to feel like part of the story.

The entire cast is great – the standouts are the leads, Deborah Hay’s Beatrice and Mark Bedard’s Benedict. Ms. Hays plays her character with subtle boldness and brazenness; Mr. Bedard matches her well in his own style. Erik Hellman, who portrays Don John, is brilliant in his facial expressions and body language, which lines up nicely since his character self-identifies as a man of few words.

This historically early rom-com puts strong emphasis on the comedy, with pratfalls and brilliant use of the audience seating as part of the stage. Beatrice has a moment where she is trying to hide from the other characters and grabs an empty audience seat, then reaches behind her to borrow the coat of an audience member to cover herself in her obvious attempt to hide.

Several cast members involve audience members in the story, through pointed eye contact and physical interactions (like shaking one patron’s hand in seeming solidarity). At one point, chorus characters engage the theatregoers by teaching us a song to sing along with them; they also encourage clapping with the music at times.

Chicago Shakes never disappoints as the world class institution it is, and “Much Ado About Nothing” is another excellent example of this. But the bright, beautiful banter comes to an end December 21st, so proceed with haste to www.chicagoshakes.com for tickets or more information.

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