Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Kenny Leon’s fresh, lucid MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at the Delacorte hits the sweet spot

• By drediman
• June 13, 2019
• No Comments

Grantham Coleman, Jeremie Harris, Margaret Odette, Danielle Brooks, and company in Free Shakespeare in the Park’s production of “Much Ado About Nothing” at the Delacorte Theatre. Photo by Joan Marcus.

Nothing marks the welcome commencement of summer better than going to the first Free Shakespeare in the Park performance of the year (especially when the weather cooperates). Well, that’s what happened earlier this week when I attended the opening night of Kenny Leon’s production of Much Ado About Nothing at the Delacorte Theatre. Perhaps Shakespeare’s most relatable and richly rewarding comedy, the play – when performed capably – is a hugely enjoyable yet achingly human depiction of romantic love, treachery, jealousy, and the battle of the sexes. These are all themes well-associated with Shakespeare, but I’m hard pressed to name a play of his that strikes the balance quite as perfectly as Much Ado.

Mr. Leon, a sought-after stage director noted for chronicling the African American experience, updates Shakespeare’s play confidently into the 21^stcentury. His staging sets the play in present-day America and purposefully deploys an all-black cast – make no mistake, this is no case of gender-blind casting; the actors emphatically play specifically black characters. Under Mr. Leon’s guidance, the play jumps off the page with a freshness and lucidity that I often seek but only rarely find in the Bard in performance. The music-laced production hits the sweet spot by skillfully fusing the play’s sparkling comedic mirthfulness and its more somber, unfortunately relevant undertones. I found the production’s tone to be pitch perfect.

The runaway star of the production is undoubtedly Danielle Brooks, whose boisterous, heartfelt Beatrice is a combustible combination of sass and sweetness. Luckily, Ms. Brooks’s work – which includes a healthy dose of sensational singing – is just one in a set of surprisingly fine performances (Grantham Coleman’s Benedick, Chuck Cooper’s Leonato, Jeremie Harris’s Claudio, Margaret Odette’s Hero, among others, are all worthy portrayals), most of which work effortlessly and exquisitely both in Shakespearean terms, as well as from a purely contemporary vantage point. This Much Ado About Nothing is the very model of how to stage Shakespeare for today’s audiences.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Off-Broadway, Play
Free Shakespeare in the Park / The Public Theater at the Delacorte Theatre
2 hours, 30 minutes (with one intermission)
Through June 23