Park provides good viewing atmosphere for Shakespeare comedy
Much of the action in William Shakespeare’s comedy play “Much Ado About Nothing” takes place on an estate in Sicily, and a pivotal scene takes place at a masquerade ball.
Viewers of the Hobnob Theatre Company’s upcoming production of the play will get to watch this story of “noting” unfold in the setting of Butler Township’s Preston Park or Butler’s Memorial Park, which the play’s director said provide good ambiance for this comedy of misunderstandings.
“We use canopy tents dressed up to work as our sets that will help the audience visualize the tropical beach resort,” said Ken Smith, the production’s director. “This year it will be stationary in one spot. I think it's perfect for what we're doing; it's very contemporary.”
Hobnob will be performing its production of the play from July 15 to 17, July 22 and July 24 at Preston Park; and July 23 at the Rotary Shelter at Memorial Park. All shows are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m.
Smith said the theater company has put on several Shakespeare in the Park productions over the years which have been popular with local audiences, including “Julius Caesar,” “The Tempest” and “Romeo and Juliet.”
“Much Ado About Nothing,” he said, likely also will be a crowd pleaser, because its story follows flawed characters who overhear, or note, what other characters are saying, which leads to conflict among them, which leads to comedy for the audience. Additionally, the story is simple, character-driven and not as hefty as Shakespeare’s tragedies.
“All of the things that are part of this play we deal with every day,” Smith said. “What happens a lot in the show is almost every character ends up overhearing something someone else says, or it’s a trick knowing that someone is going to hear it.”
Smith also said the play is being adapted to be in a modern setting, but characters will maintain the dialogue written by Shakespeare. Deanna Sparrow, who appears in one of her dream roles, Beatrice, said modern romantic comedies owe a lot to Shakespeare’s early take on the genre.
“The comedy in this show in particular; the types of characters you would see in a modern sitcom, you see all those characters in this play,” Sparrow said. “There are so many different moods and tones. It's got a rom-com storyline, a villainous storyline, there is some really farcical comedy.”
Frequent Hobnob actor Casey Bowser plays Benedick, one of the lead characters. Bowser said that despite the hefty dialogue and the plot that intertwines many characters and stories, the play is pretty easy to follow.
“What's nice about it is I feel like this is really accessible to everybody, and the modern setting makes it a lot more accessible,” Bowser said. “When you look at it on the page, it's a heck of a lot different than people seeing and speaking it.”
Luke Pfeifer, who plays Claudio in the show, said performing in the production — for his first time in a Shakespeare play — has not been as difficult as he thought it would be.
Additionally, the cast members make the play their own through their interactions and takes on each character.
“It's a fun time, the cast has good chemistry, and it's just a really good atmosphere to be a part of,” Pfeifer said. “My character doesn't have any huge page-long monologues. Shakespeare is surprisingly easy with enough repetition.”
Pfeifer also said the cast engages with the audience through the show as much as possible, which is easy to do in the park setting.
Bowser said working with the cast also makes the play more fun even in rehearsals.
“That's what's nice is having a lot of people to work on it with you. You get other interpretations and their thoughts,” Bowser said. “I do think the reason we're still doing it is how wonderful Shakespeare puts words together. It has almost a music to it.”
Smith said creating a production of a play that has been performed thousands of times over hundreds of years connects his actors to those who played their roles before. He said the new interpretations of the characters alone make the play worth watching.
“I like to think that our production connects them in a way to all the other actors who have played those roles in all the centuries,” he said. “It's like they are carrying on the legacy.”
Tickets for “Much Ado About Nothing” can be purchased at hobnobtheatre.com.
