William Shakespeare’s plays seem to come in waves. One summer there might be four or five productions of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” nearby, and another year there may be a surfeit of “Macbeth’s.” This summer’s selection of choice is “Much Ado About Nothing.”
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival marks the 40th anniversary of its Free Shakespeare in the Park shows (and the end of Rebecca J. Ennals’ 10-year tenure as artistic director) with its fourth production of “Much Ado,” now playing in Cupertino before moving on to Redwood City and San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park is performing the same play in Vallejo, Benicia, Martinez, Oakland and Crockett. And the fledgling Berkeley Shakespeare Company also performed “Much Ado” earlier this summer in Kensington and San Rafael.
The play’s best known for the sharp-tongued, verbally sparring Beatrice and Benedick, who mock each other and swear to remain single, so they’re obviously doomed to fall in love with each other. It also features a more disturbing thread in which the villainous Don John tricks jealous young Claudio into believing fiancée Hero is cheating on him. The way Claudio humiliates Hero as a result is unforgivable but (this being a Shakespearean romantic comedy) all too easily forgiven.
The SF Shakespeare production has a 1990s aesthetic in Marina Polakoff’s playful costumes and in Richard Jennings’ music. Steven Flores as Borachio, henchman and garage bandmate to Alan Coyne’s brooding Don John, performs an entertaining grunge version of “Sigh No More.” (In Vallejo’s production the same song is a rap.) Instead of returning from warfare, Benedick, Claudio and leader Don Pedro (Maryssa Wanlass with hipster facial hair) have just come back from a protest lugging placards.
Directed by Shannon R. Davis, it’s a greatly pared-down version of Shakespeare’s comedy, only 95 minutes without intermission. A lot of the tomfoolery of dull-witted, malapropism-spouting constable Dogberry (chirpy Larissa Kelloway) is trimmed away. It’s a brisk but also strangely limp production in which relatively few of the performances feel authentically part of the action.
Ben Chau-Chiu’s callow Claudio and Veda Baldota’s amiable Hero play as very young and there’s zero chemistry between them, making his cruelty feel more childish than devastating.
Standouts among the cast as they should be, Livia Gomes Demarchi is a volatile, snarky Beatrice in mall punk finery, and David Everett Moore is an amusingly fumbling and jovial Benedick.
The comparatively unexpurgated Vallejo Shakes production is nearly twice as long, about three hours with intermission. It’s also done “Ren style” (as in Renaissance): actors were only given their own lines and cues instead of the full script and limited time to rehearse, and a prompter feeds them lines as needed. That happens a lot, which makes line fumbling simply part of the experience but also slows everything down.
Directed by company founder Dalia Vidor, the show features a lively central couple in Ofeibia Laud-Darku and Benjamin Garcia as Beatrice and Benedick. Beatrice in particular is always clearly putting on a performance for those around her.
The performances vary widely, but the production features plenty of amusing tomfoolery with the sharp-tongued reluctant lovers and with Nez Gray’s bumbling Dogberry. Tia Rose Beem’s scowling Dona Johnna turns entertainingly earnest while bamboozling Maldon Longren’s sleepwalking Claudio.
If neither production fully realizes the comedy to its best advantage, both serve as welcome and easily accessible reminders of some of the best features of a problematic play.
Contact Sam Hurwitt at [email protected], and follow him at Twitter.com/shurwitt.
‘MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING’
San Francisco Shakespeare Festival: Through Aug. 7 at Memorial Park Amphitheater, Cupertino; Aug. 13-28 at Red Morton Park, Redwood City; Sep. 3-11 at Jerry Garcia Amphitheater, McLaren Park, San Francisco; One hour and 35 minutes, no intermission; free; www.sfshakes.org
Vallejo Shakespeare in the Park: Aug. 6 at Marina Pavilion, Benicia; Aug. 7 at Susana Park, Martinez; Aug. 13 at Peralta Hacienda Historical Park, Oakland; Aug. 14 at Rithet Park, Crockett; Aug. 19-20 at Vino Godfather Winery, Vallejo; Two hours and 55 minutes, one intermission; free ($25 closing weekend); www.vallejoshakespeare.org
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