For our 30th anniversary Jill and I spent two days in Cedar City this week. Monday afternoon at the Utah Shakespearean Festival we watched The 39 Steps. In the evening it was time for Much Ado about Nothing, a comedy by William Shakespeare about two pairs of lovers, Benedick and Beatrice, and Claudio and Hero.
The play is directed by B. J. Jones. The Utah Shakespearean Festival website has this to say:
Meet Beatrice and Benedick. To them love is a game of wits. Then meet Hero and Claudio. To them love is, well . . . just love. This vibrant and comic celebration of life and romance will introduce you to these opposite lovers, and to a host of villains, clowns, and eccentric characters. And you will cheer when these lively couples finally learn realities about life, love—and themselves.
The play is shown in the Adams Shakespearean Theatre, dedicated in 1977. It is patterned after drawings and research of sixteenth century Tudor stages. Experts say it is one of a few theatres that probably comes close to the design of the Globe Theatre in which Shakespeare’s plays were originally produced.
I found watching Much Ado about Nothing in an open air theater just adds to the experience. The play was very entertaining and funny. Sometimes, watching Shakespeare drags for me, being the uncouth man that I am, but I enjoyed this play and the time was gone all too soon.
Next: Pride and Prejudice
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