“Much Ado About Nothing” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Much Ado About Nothing

By William Shakespeare
Directed by Miriam A. Laube

Ashland, OR at the Oregon Shakespeare Fetival  May 16 – July 19, 2024

Amy Kim Waschke and John Tufts, with Al Espinosa, Mark Murphey, Uma Paranjpe, and Cedric Lamar. Photo by Jenny Graham.

This summer’s Much Ado About Nothing breaks out of the simple Shakespeare comedy mode and delivers a real story with real characters.

I have very different expectations for Shakespeare’s comedies than I do for his tragedies and other classifications. The comedies too often are very pleasant entertainment. That’s it. And OSF’s Much Ado does a magnificent job of entertaining. But this production is more. The acting is careful and clear, the costumes rich, the set fun, and every other craft is spot on, too.

The comedic activities affect real people on stage and they don’t just jump around and smile. Under the direction of Miriam Laube even Dogberry has more than a buffoon one-note personality (… and we saw Alex Purcell in the role and he’s apparently the understudy’s understudy).

Our established couple Beatrice (Amy Kim Waschke) and Benedick (John Tufts) are solid, fun, and react appropriately to each other. Their scenes are extraordinary in the action but also visually.

Much Ado About Nothing Cast members. Photo by Jenny Graham.

 I loved hearing Conrade (Eddie Lopez) launch into a song that felt real. I felt Father Verges’ (Mark Murphey) moral judgements. Well, everyone on stage added their own individualism to the events and there wasn’t just the mass of group emotion that too often appears in the comedies.

Miriam also reportedly wrote the songs that accompanied Shakespeare’s text, and they were powerful additions, especially at the end when Hero (Ava Mingo) sang and planted doubt in our minds about how happy a marriage Claudio (Bradley James Tejeda) could expect.

Yes, the standout character development to me was Hero’s reactions to being unjustly disbelieved and shunned because of the malicious “Nothing” that Don John (Christian Denzel Bufford) unleashed. We have wished at other productions of Much Ado that Hero would stand up for herself. There might be a note somewhere that this was a “problem” comedy, but there seemed to be happiness everywhere at the end.

Sheila Tousey, Ava Mingo, and Uma Paranjpe. Photo by Jenny Graham.

Miriam empowers Hero to communicate her doubts. No Shakespeare words are changed, but the superb direction lets gestures and the tone of voice get the message across that Hero isn’t sure the that Much Ado plot outlines a genuine comedy.

Another point to applaud is Miriam’s Director’s Notes. I never read the director’s comments before I attend a performance. I want what I see on the stage unveil the director’s vision and I really don’t want to get an intellectual discussion about what the director meant for me to see. But now, after I’ve enjoyed Much Ado, I am impressed about how intentional Miriam was in exploring the various emotions. I actually felt on stage what she described in her notes. Wow. What calculated artistry!

I look forward to seeing more shows under Miriam’s direction. In the meantime I strongly recommend enjoying this 2024 adventure.