Brevity Shakespeare frames "Much Ado About Nothing" in a new light with its adapted performance and plot.
Brevity Shakespeare is a community-based theater company in Ypsilanti that started in 2019 by putting on Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” before having to take a hiatus until 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "Much Ado About Nothing" is the company's seventh show.
Brevity Shakespeare is dedicated to representing the community in its shows. Ypsilanti is a diverse city and the company wants its casts to reflect that, said Karl Sikkenga, producer of "Much Ado About Nothing" and creative director of Brevity Shakespeare.
“We have been actively recruiting people of color to audition," Sikkenga said. "We don't really have to anymore. For the last two or three productions, including 'Much Ado,' we haven't done any particular recruiting among the communities of people. The word is out now."
"Much Ado About Nothing" is a Shakespeare play about gossip and eavesdropping. Drama happens between two couples: Beatrice and Benedict, and Claudio and Hero. Claudio and Hero fall instantly in love but are torn apart due to gossip and lies. Beatrice and Benedict hate each other and are tricked into falling in love. Later, the truth is revealed and both couples get happily married.
“Some people call 'Much Ado' the original rom-com," Sikkenga said. "Beatrice and Benedict loved each other, and now they hated each other, and now they love each other, and they hate each other again, and of course they end up together.”
In the original version of the play, Benedict apologizes to Beatrice and is forgiven. Sikkenga wasn't a fan of that plot point. Later, he saw "Much Ado" at the Stratford Festival, and the show's writer, Erin Shields, changed the scene. In the new scene, before Benedict can apologize, Beatrice explains what happened to her and why it was wrong. Sikkenga preferred this edition of the show and was permitted to use that adaptation for Brevity Shakespeare.
“I saw a production at the Stratford Festival in Ontario a couple of years ago," Sikkenga said. "I didn't know anything about it, but I thought I would give it a chance. And in this production, he knelt before her, and before he could get a word out of his mouth, she took the mask off and said, 'Listen, pal.' And she explained to him everything that was wrong with what he had done to her.”
Brevity Shakespeare's adaptation of the play will have a few changes to give certain characters more time on stage and to accommodate their small cast, Sikkenga said.
“My feeling is that if Shakespeare were around, he would be delighted that 400 years later, we're still doing his stuff," Sikkenga said. "And if we want to tinker with it, I think that would be okay with him.”
Shows will be May 22-24 and May 29-31 at The YPSI, 218 N. Adams St., Ypsilanti. Friday shows are at 7:30 p.m., Saturday shows are at 2:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday shows are at 2:30 p.m. Regular admission tickets are $15 and student and senior tickets are $10. A purchase link is available at brevityshakes.org.
