Just when you think Shakespeare might be too Old School for the 21st century, headlines pop up to remind us that WS was pretty clever about the constants of human behavior.  ABC Network worked itself into a tizzy recently when the two anchors of “GMA3”, its afternoon spinoff of “Good Morning America,” were revealed to be romantically involved. GASP! The tabloids and social media had such a hot time revealing all that the president of ABC News “temporarily removed” the anchors from the air because their romance had “become a distraction.”

In a delightful burst of timeliness, Washington, D.C.’s Shakespeare Theatre is currently offering an updated version of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING that is set in a contemporary cable newsroom in the nation’s capital. “SNN” (the Shakespeare News Network) is clearly modeled after CNN, using a desk with anchors, giant tv screens, and even with a short video by CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer.  The program warns that “The course of true love never did run smooth, especially when the ON AIR sign is lit.”

Shakespeare’s play was written in 1598 and 1599, and revolves around two romantic pairings—Beatrice and Benedict, and Hero and Claudio. It has always been an immensely popular play, with leading actors of each era embracing the chance to play Beatrice and Benedict. Nineteenth century stage stars Henry Irving and Ellen Terry called their roles as B & B their greatest triumph; John Gielgud made Benedict one of his signature roles, and Derek Jacobi won a Tony Award for his portrayal in 1984.  In 2013, Vanessa Redgrave and James Earl Jones–then in their 70s and 80s respectively–won cheers playing B & B at the Old Vic.  MUCH ADO has also been much done on film, notably in Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson’s 1993 period version set in sunny Tuscany, and in Joss Whedon’s 2013 modern version set in his own house and shot in black and white.

As imagined by the STC’s Artistic Director Simon Godwin, this update features Beatrice and Benedict as SNN anchors who share a broadcast desk in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol. They are so competitive that their on-air characters barely treat one another with civility. Instead, they fling barbs and smiley-face insults that disguise, as Shakespeare had intended, how passionately B & B actually feel about each other. In a business where “image” is all, their egos are too tender to risk failure. As director Godwin notes, “Like many of DC’s famous, this play reflects the constant concern about reputation, honor, and your “name,’ so it’ll play into anxieties and comic opportunities.”

As in Shakespeare’s time, the glitter of fame can easily turn into an agonizing struggle for identity—what  John Milton would later call an “agonistes.”  (Milton, SAMSON AGONISTES, 1671)   But the STC update created by Godwin and company is a romp. Using B & B’s submerged passion, this MUCH ADO is heavy on slapstick and farce, forcing the anchor characters to crawl around on stage, hide behind plants, and fall into giant garbage cans. So much for tender egos….

The lead characters are fully up to the challenge. Kate Jennings Grant as Beatrice and Rick Holmes as Benedict relish their roles in a rollicking Hepburn/Tracy way. The secondary romantic couple features Nicole King as SNN’s sportscaster Hero and Paul Deo, Jr. as the network’s weatherman. The stand-out actor is Edward Gero, who plays the always-present executive producer and manages to bring order to the show’s ongoing chaos. Gero is a Washington favorite, and in this–his 80th production with STC—he is clearly enjoying himself to the hilt.

The revolving set of MUCH ADO, designed by Alexander Dodge, is wonderful—whirling and twirling from the broadcast studio to an Off–Air masquerade party, to a hotel, to a dowdy office for a Security Force straight out of the Keystone Cops. Lighting Designer Donald Holder has created radiant lighting for each of these sets, unabashedly using a lot of neon reds, blues, and whites along the way.

Cheers to the Shakespeare Theater for updating MUCH ADO as a contemporary farce. In actor Ed Gero’s words,  this frenzied version is “just what the doctor ordered for these crazy times.”  

By Amy Henderson, Senior Contributing Editor

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING  was at the Shakespeare Theatre through Dec. 11, 2022.  Shakespearetheatre.org.