University Of Alabama At Birmingham:

Press release from the University of Alabama at Birmingham:

October 28, 2021

Theatre UAB at the University of Alabama at Birmingham will present one of William Shakespeare’s most delightful and most often produced comedies, “Much Ado About Nothing,” from Nov. 10-13 and 17-20. 

After a year of online, recorded and streamed performances due to the pandemic, the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Theatre decided, when they returned to live theater this season, “we wanted to laugh, have a good time and truly celebrate the return to stage with lots and lots of comedy,” said Director Jack Cannon. 

So, when searching for a classic comedy, Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” presented itself as the ideal choice. The play is filled with youthful characters falling in love, a plot full of hysterical twists and turns, and a conclusion where all is set right in the world and love wins the day. “Much Ado” is full of beautiful language and side-splitting laughs, all centered around the classic battle between the sexes. Through a hilarious blend of eavesdropping, deception and mistaken identity, a love-struck couple play Cupid for two of their relationship-challenged friends. 

Shows are at 7:30 p.m. nightly Nov. 10-13 and Nov. 17-19, and at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20, in the Alys Stephens Performing Arts Center’s Odess Theatre. Admission is $15; students $6; UAB employees and senior citizens $10. 

Cannon says, as the director, he wanted to feature the diversity of the UAB Department of Theatre. R’kaisa Mitchell is the student assistant director.

“We needed a production that was flexible in casting genders and ethnicities,” Cannon said. “I wanted to approach the classic play with a modern sensibility. Many of the male characters have been reenvisioned as female characters or cast with an actress portraying a male character.”

The traditional casting of “Much Ado” has only four female characters. Theatre UAB’s version features 11 actresses, most notably the villain, Don John, who is now Doña Jules, and the patriarch of the play, Leonato, who is now the matriarch, Leonata. This means the cast of “Much Ado” at UAB will have more non-male characters than Shakespeare wrote for any of his plays. 

The production design, set in an elegant garden, is the world of a fairy tale or a fantastical city out of a movie. Costumes are elaborate and elegant. The time period is “not quite now,” and the setting is “not quite here,” Cannon said, making for a timeless comedy geared toward a 2021 society. 

Another feature of the design has the production staged in the round with the audience sitting on all four sides of the set. This creates an intimate relationship between the actors and the audience, allowing the language of Shakespeare to be clearly heard and the action of the play to be at “arms’ distance” from the audience, Cannon said.

The cast is Bri Scott as Signora Leonata, Trevor McMullen as Antonio, Abigail Coats as Beatrice, Raiya Goodman as Hero, Travis Settoon as Don Pedro and understudy for the role of Benedick, Ian Black as Benedick, Devin Franklin as Claudio, Jazzy Pedroza-Watson as Doña Jules, Anna Frey as Conrade, Soren Klinger as Borachio and understudy for the role of Claudio, Cappy Elvir as Margaret, Emma Chippendale as Ursula, Isabel Behr as Dogberry, Tess Lenzen as Verges, Joseph Condon as First Watch, Michael Woods as Second Watch and understudy for the role of Antonio, Madeline Erwin as Friar Francis, and Cat Merritt as Sexton and understudy for the role of Friar Frances. Understudies also include Madi Carr for the roles of Hero, Doña Jules, Conrade and Verges; Kristen Hall for the roles of Leonata, Beatrice and Dogberry; McKenna Shaw for the roles of Margaret, Ursula and Sexton; Jackson Landreau for the roles of Don Pedro and Borachio; and Michael Mercado as Watches. 

Voice and text coach and fight director is Santiago Sosa, and choreographer is Rachel Marie Strazza. Assistant stage managers are Juliette Sosa Valle and Thomas McFerran. Scenic design by Ed Zuckerman. Amanda Waller is lighting designer, David Page is lighting and sound tech, and J. Marc Quattlebaum is props coordinator. Kimberly Schnormeier is costume designer, with costumes by Amy Page and Sharon Morgan.        

This press release was produced by the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The views expressed here are the author’s own.