June 15 – November 25, 2017
While the villainous Don John devises a scheme to shatter the nuptials of Claudio and Hero, the young lovers conspire to trick the utterly charming pair, Beatrice and Benedick, into admitting their much-denied love. In this powerful comedy full of effervescent wit, Shakespeare gives us the joy of love won and the ache of love lost. He makes us laugh, breaks our hearts, and then magically puts them back together again.
The cast of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
Greg Brostom, Josh Innerst, and Allie Babich in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
Christopher Seiler and Lauren Ballard in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
Allison Glenzer and David Anthony Lewis in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
Benjamin Reed, René Thornton, Jr., and David Anthony Lewis in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
Lauren Ballard, Shunté Lofton, Greg Brostrom, and Allie Babich in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
Chris Johnston in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
Shunté Lofton and Lauren Ballard in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
The cast of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTER. 2017.
Allison Glenzer and David Anthony Lewis in MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by LINDSEY WALTERS. 2017.
Cast
Christopher Seiler is a seasoned actor and musician whose performances embody transformation and connection, captivating audiences at ASC and beyond.
Lauren has been an actor at the American Shakespeare Center in 32 productions and is currently the Properties Master and Choreographer for the Summer/Fall Season. She has a BA from …
More than 186 roles in 101 productions, including Volumnia in Coriolanus, Olivia in Twelfth Night; Regan in King Lear; Margaret in both Henry VI, Part 1 and Part 2; Isabella in Measure for Measure;…
Polonius, Fortinbras in Hamlet; Northumberland in Richard II; Polonius, Fortinbras in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Mirabell in The Way of the World; Alberto, Page in Antonio’s Revenge.
THIS SEASON: Anne Page, John Rugby in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Sir Walter Blunt, Lady Mortimer, Francis in Henry IV, Part 1; Aaliyah Essam in…
Allie Babich is an innovative performer and director whose bold vision and creative energy inspire captivating storytelling at ASC and beyond.
PREVIOUSLY WITH ASC: More than 137 roles in 113 productions, including the title roles in Coriolanus; King Lear; Edward II; Timon of Athens; The Merchant of Venice; Pericles; Doctor Faustus; …
Benjamin has been a resident company member with the American Shakespeare Center since 2014.
David Anthony Lewis is an accomplished Actor with over 70 professional theatre credits A Christmas Carol 2024 is his 36th production with ASC.
Hamlet in Hamlet; Mowbray, Percy, Groom in Richard II; Hamlet in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Petulant in The Way of the World; Castillo, Senator in Antonio’s Revenge.
Allie Babich is an innovative performer and director whose bold vision and creative energy inspire captivating storytelling at ASC and beyond.
THIS SEASON: Richard in RICHARD III
Chris Johnston has over 20 years of theatre experience and more than 120 productions at the American Shakespeare Center.
Hamlet in Hamlet; Mowbray, Percy, Groom in Richard II; Hamlet in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Petulant in The Way of the World; Castillo, Senator in Antonio’s Revenge.
THIS SEASON: Anne Page, John Rugby in The Merry Wives of Windsor; Sir Walter Blunt, Lady Mortimer, Francis in Henry IV, Part 1; Aaliyah Essam in…
Polonius, Fortinbras in Hamlet; Northumberland in Richard II; Polonius, Fortinbras in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Mirabell in The Way of the World; Alberto, Page in Antonio’s Revenge.
Christopher Seiler is a seasoned actor and musician whose performances embody transformation and connection, captivating audiences at ASC and beyond.
Polonius, Fortinbras in Hamlet; Northumberland in Richard II; Polonius, Fortinbras in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; Mirabell in The Way of the World; Alberto, Page in Antonio’s Revenge.
THIS SEASON: Richard in RICHARD III
Lauren has been an actor at the American Shakespeare Center in 32 productions and is currently the Properties Master and Choreographer for the Summer/Fall Season. She has a BA from …
Lauren has been an actor at the American Shakespeare Center in 32 productions and is currently the Properties Master and Choreographer for the Summer/Fall Season. She has a BA from …
Artistic Team
THIS SEASON: Actor in THE COMPLETE WORKS OF WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE (abridged) [revised] (again)
Asst. Stage Manager / Understudy
Favorite credits include Cressida/Hector (Troilus and Cressida) and Puck (Midsummer Night’s Dream) with Compass Shakespeare Ensemble. She has previously worked with Great River Shakespeare Festival as an Education Artist (and graphic designer). She holds an MFA and MLitt in Shakespeare and Performance from Mary Baldwin University.
Tweet Me: @CatieOsaurus
Jessica brings years of costume design and construction knowledge to the ASC, from dying to leather work, design to tailoring, and everything in between. Originally from southern Iowa, she has …
Assistant Costume Designer
Victoria is excited to return to American Shakespeare Center. Recent ASC credits include Richard III for the…
Properties Master
Chris has been designing and building props for the ASC since 2012. In that time, he’s provided props for over 60 productions, including (from Shakespeare): The Merchant of Venice; The Two Gentlemen of Verona; Cymbeline; King John; Love’s Labour’s Lost; Twelfth Night; Julius Caesar; Henry VIII; The Two Noble Kinsmen; Romeo and Juliet; All’s Well That Ends Well; Troilus and Cressida; Othello; The Merry Wives of Windsor; Henry IV, Part 1; As You Like It; Timon of Athens; Macbeth; The Comedy of Errors; Pericles; Hamlet; Much Ado about Nothing; The Taming of the Shrew; Antony and Cleopatra; A Midsummer Night’s Dream; The Winter’s Tale; Henry VI, Parts 1, 2, and 3; Henry V; The Tempest; Measure for Measure; and King Lear.
Stephanie Holladay Earl is an accomplished actor, director, choreographer, & educator with over 15 years of experience, known for her impactful work.
Mercutio and Montague in Romeo and Juliet and Dromio of Ephesus in The Comedy of Errors; Fight Captain
David holds a B.A. in Theatre Studies from the University of Wisconsin, an M.F.A. in Acting from Florida Atlantic University, and is currently pursuing an M.Litt degree in Mary Baldwin’s …
STUFF THAT HAPPENS IN THE PLAY
- Leonato, the governor of Messina, welcomes Don Pedro of Aragon and his troops after their recent military victory.
- Beatrice (Leonato’s niece) and Benedick (Don Pedro’s friend) resume their “merry war” and verbally spar with one another. Both swear they will never fall in love.
- Claudio (Don Pedro’s younger friend) tells Benedick that he is in love with Leonato’s daughter, Hero. Benedick tells Don Pedro of Claudio’s love for Hero.
- Don Pedro devises a plan in which he will pretend to be Claudio at a masked party, woo Hero for Claudio, and then get Leonato to give consent for Hero to marry Claudio.
- Leonato and his brother Antonio prepare for the evening party and mistakenly think Don Pedro wants to marry Hero.
- Don John, bastard brother of Don Pedro, tells his man Conrad, “I cannot hide what I am…a plain dealing villain.”
- At the party, seizing his opportunity to get even with Claudio (whom he despises), Don John convinces Claudio that Don Pedro has wooed Hero for himself.
- Don Pedro and Leonato clear the air when they reveal that Claudio may marry Hero.
- Don John devises another plot against Claudio in which Borachio, another of his men, will make Claudio believe Hero has been unfaithful.
- Knowing that Benedick is eavesdropping on them and thus will overhear, Don Pedro, Claudio, and Leonato pretend that Beatrice has professed her love for Benedick.
- Knowing that Beatrice is eavesdropping on them, Hero and her gentlewoman Ursula pretend that Benedick has professed his love for Beatrice.
- Don John makes Claudio believe Hero “is disloyal,” even the “night before her wedding day.” Claudio vows that if he should “see anything to-night why [he] should not marry her, tomorrow…will [he] shame her” after wedding day.
- Dogberry the Constable and his partner Verges prepare their watchmen for the night patrol.
- Borachio tells Conrad how he tricked Claudio into believing Hero was unfaithful. The watchmen overhear and arrest Borachio and Conrad.
- Before Dogberry and the watchmen can reveal the truth, Claudio rejects Hero and publicly shames her at their wedding; Hero collapses, Don Pedro and Claudio depart.
- Faked deaths, love vows, murder plans, and redemption ensue.
Making Much Ado
“Some people are saying [unverified, inflammatory assertion]. Senator, could you comment – oops – after the break?” – XYZ Network Daytime Host
“I don’t know anything about [unverified, inflammatory assertion], but if it’s true, it’s outrageous.” – Celebrity, answering random fan question as Celebrity enters airport
“Outrageous!” – GIF of Celebrity, 12.8k retweets
“CELEBBY OUTRAGED! Sez: ‘[unverified, inflammatory assertion]?!?! I’M OUTTA HERE!’” – Daily Tab cover, photo of Celebrity dashing into airport
“Everyone knows [unverified, inflammatory assertion]. Like Celebrity, everyday Americans – including me! – are absolutely outraged. That’s why we need to enact [agenda profitable to Senator]. Won’t you please join us with as little as $3 today?” – Senator via SenatorPAC
“[Unverified, inflammatory assertion] is unverified, not to mention inflammatory. But 97% of climate scientists agree that Climate Change is already causing devastation.” – Science Guy
“@Celebrity, where RU?!? If @Congress pass @Senator’s bill, WILL U COME HOME?! <3 <3 #Outrageous #Inflammatory #StayWoke” – @TheRealREVOLUTE
“Let’s play! Here’s ten places I’ve been #Inflammatory. Which one is a lie? LOL. Copy and paste.” – The socially mediated
“A rare bipartisan achievement in Washington today, as Senator’s popular resolution – the ‘O.U.T.R.A.G.E.’ bill – easily passed with just three Nay votes.” – XYZ Network Nightly News
“Annnnnd, I’m back from vacay. Two weeks OTG. Bliss. Sooo… what’d I miss? 😛 #FOMO #Blissedtho” – @Celebrity
We are always making Much Ado About Nothing. For good or for ill, folks love a good story. And we love the story *behind* the story – the inside scoop, the first report, the hot tip that will get us there first, best, most full of win (or at least not looking foolish). If a story is told enough, it becomes true enough. The wicked, the politicians, and the young have known this since time immemorial: a nudge in the right direction (towards something we hope or fear is, in fact, true) can turn a crowd into a mob, a hero into a chump, and a couple of nerds into the Romantic Leads. From nothing. Why, right now, maybe even in this Playhouse, a person catches the eye of another person, and in the course of offering the perfunctory nod, notices that in fact, all the light in the place seems to lead to that other person. Belly butterfly. Chest thump. Swallow. Look away. After a breath, they both look back at each other at the same moment, and though their cheeks might warm with a blush, still they keep looking and share their first, deep smile. There will be many, many more. We are always making Much Ado About Nothing.
JENNY BENNETT
Guest Director