Theater Review: “Much Ado About Nothing” by Capital Classics

West Hartford - This year Capital Classics’ Greater Hartford Shakespeare Festival is presenting “Much Ado About Nothing,” written by William Shakespeare in 1598 and 1599. The summer of 2002 is when the festival moved to the beautiful campus of the University of St. Joseph, so the company is celebrating their 20th year with USJ.

Geoffrey Sheehan, who directed last year’s “As You Like It,” directs the play that tells a convoluted tale of love and meddling.

This comedy is set in Messina and is centered on two romantic pairings that come about when a group of soldiers arrive in the town. The first is between Claudio and Hero and is nearly altered by the accusations of the villain, Don John. The second romance is between Claudio's friend Benedick and Hero's cousin Beatrice and becomes more prominent as the play goes on, with both characters' wit and banter providing much of the humor in the script.

Through some strategic overhearing (“noting”,) Benedick and Beatrice are tricked into confessing their love for each other, and Claudio is tricked into believing that Hero is not a maiden.

The title is a play on words and refers to the secrets and trickery that form the backbone of this play's comedy, intrigue, and action.

George Page of Avon enters the stage first in the role of Leonato, the father of the lovely Hero, who is played by Joslyn Eaddy Melendez, a Bridgeport native who graduated from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

The Hartt School graduate Megan Gwyn gives a wonderfully strong performance as Beatrice, the niece of Leonato.

Mauricio Miranda (pictured above) brings out all of the comedy in the role of Benedick. This young actor was born and raised in Lima, Peru and when a bit of the accent from his native language creeps into his lines, it simply makes it a bit more Italian. Miranda holds an MFA in Acting from UConn and will be appearing as Ferdinand in “The Tempest” with Elm Shakespeare.

Nathan Podziewski, a New York based actor who studied at The Hartt School, portrays the handsome young Claudio, while Nick Fetherston of Hamden, who studied theater at Quinnipiac University, plays both the evil Don John, the brother of Don Pedro and the sexton who is the judge at the trial of Borachio. UConn MFA Acting alum Sebastian Nagpal plays Borachio, a follower of Don John.

Laura Sheehan appears as both the attendant Ursula and the hilarious constable Dogberry. Sheehan, who co-founded Capital Classics with Geoffrey Sheehan, has been involved in every production in the past 30+ years as a performer, director, writer, or producer.

Nick Luberto of Windham, a recent graduate of UConn, plays Don Pedro, Prince of Aragon. Eliza Carson, a recent UConn BFA Acting graduate who was part of “The Wolves” and “Pericles” at Connecticut Repertory Theatre, plays Hero’s attendant Margaret and Seacoal. Joshua Eaddy of Bridgeport portrays Antonio, brother of Leonato, and Verges and gets to perform for the first time with his daughter Joslyn. Remy McCoy, who studies drama at NYU Tisch, plays a messenger, the fierce Conrad and Sister Francis. Gwyn and Melendez also change costumes to play two night watchers.

John Holder is the technical director. Christine Simoes designed the fun and lively choreography for the party scene and the final bows. There is some joyful original music composed and performed by Jaeme McDonald and violinist Jonathan Kane of Newington. The set designed by David Regan allows the performers to make use of the spaces for hiding. There are many rich costumes designed by Viviana Lamb that show the influence of Milan.

Longtime fans of Capital Classics can pick up the new book about its 30-year history at all performances. Edwin Thrower and Kathleen Fischer are the authors of "Love's Labour's Won."
This new book will be sold at all Festival performances and on the website. Copies will be sold for $20 each and net proceeds support Capital Classics.

“Much Ado About Nothing” continues through July 31 on the grounds of the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford. Tickets are selling fast, so be sure to reserve your tickets in advance at HartfordShakespeare.org.

Nancy Sasso Janis has been writing theatre reviews since 2012 as a way to support local theatre venues. She posts reviews of well over 100 productions each year. In 2016, she became a member of the Connecticut Critics Circle. She continues to contribute theater news, previews, and audition notices to local Patch sites. Reviews of all levels of theatrical productions are posted on Naugatuck Patch and the Patch sites closest to the venue. She recently became a contributor to the Waterbury Republican-American newspaper. Her weekly column and theater reviews appear in the Thursday Weekend section of the paper.

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