Much Ado About Nothing
Produced by Richmond Shakespeare Festival in 2014, Starr-Gennett Factory Building
Richmond Shakespeare Festival’s 2014 Production of Much Ado About Nothing, by William Shakespeare
A prototype for the modern romantic comedy and a perennial favorite among fans of Shakespeare’s comedies, Much Ado About Nothing explores a stunning breadth of human experience.
Traditionally, productions of Much Ado focus on the contrast between two central romantic couples: the young and earnest Hero and Claudio, and the older and somewhat jaded Beatrice and Benedick, whose “merry war” provides some of Shakespeare’s cleverest comic dialogue. But central to Much Ado are other complex and familiar situations: returning home from foreign wars, maintaining friendships in the face of differences in class, culture, and wealth, and characters’ concerns about their future prospects in the face of these and other changes.
In order to bring these other central issues into greater focus, our production sets Much Ado in a more familiar place and time: Richmond Indiana in 1919. There, the end of the first World War, the energetic prosperity that marked the end of the “Age of Innocence,” and anxieties over both revolution abroad and corruption at home will provide a compelling backdrop and revealing context for Much Ado’s romantic storyline.
Additional Reading: PlayShakespeare.com
PRODUCTION TEAM
Director: Joshua Robinson
Festival Technical Director: Mickey White
Sound Design: Paul Berghoff
Scenic Design: Cassandra King
Lighting Design: Dale Marshall
Stage Manager: Andy Darr
Assistant Stage Manager: Kate Fuller
Composer: John Bronston
Costume Design: Lirit Pendell
Asst. Costume Designer: Moon Schultz
Asst. Costume Designer: Michael Gallagher
Choreographer: Cheryl Delucio
CAST LIST
CAST LIST
Don Pedro: Michael Vinikoff
Balthasar/”The Singer”: Brian Jackson
Leonato: Eric Burkhardt
Beatrice: Beth Anne Darr
Hero: Sarah Waddle
Margaret: Michelle King
Claudio: Kyle Zilic
Benedick: Matthew Socey
Don John: Jeremy Clark
Conrade: Catherine Blencowe
Borachio : Mark Edwards
Diva: Rae Hunter
Dogberry: Mark Slayton
Verges : Mallory Ward
First Watch: Heather Corder
Second Watch: Jeff Roegner
Friar Francis: Jennie Kiffmeyer
HOUSE BAND MUSICIANS
Music Coordinator: Robert Williams
Piano: Jennie Williams
Bass: Mike Mustin
Percussion: Barry Caudill
Clarinet: Don Miller
Singer (Balthasar): Brian Jackson
2014 BOARD
Ray Ontko, President
TJ Rivard, Vice President
Nate Eastman, Secretary
David Cobine
Kevin Harvey
Steven Petersheim
Joshua Robinson
Lynne Perkins Socey
Michael White
2014 STAFF
Beth Anne Darr, Festival Coordinator
Sharon Ontko, Festival Assistant
David Cobine, Outshakes
Rae Hunter, Education
Jennie Kiffmeyer, Sonneteers
Erin Miller, Front of House
Scott Slucher, Front of House Intern