Everybody talks (three witches shakespeare)

Much Ado About Nothing By William Shakespeare Directed by Clarity Hagan

A review by Kate Barry

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The troops come home and “Don’t ask Don’t tell” has been repealed. Everyone is ready to party. And to spread gossip. Shenanigans ensue when bickering rivals become lovers and rumor nearly ruins young love. three witches shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing is a quirky, cool rom-com full of flirtation and folly.

Performed in the quarters of Old Louisville’s Conrad-Caldwell House, the audience sits on the parameters of the space becoming passive on lookers. In-the-round staging is smart for this type of play where gossip leads to hijinks. No one is safe. Especially the brash Benedick (Brooke Morrison) and stubborn Beatrice (Tory Parker). According to the Clarity Hagan’s Director’s Notes, this show implies a setting of 2011 when “Don’t ask Don’t tell” was abolished from the United States armed forces. A major milestone in LGBTQ+ rights, indeed.  While song choices and hyper specific costume and props like silly bands reminds one of the early Millennium, the era felt merely implied rather than enforced.

Regardless of era, Benedick and Beatrice’s squabbling will-they-or-wont-they rapport is irresistible. Brooke Morrison’s Benedick is entitled and cocky with a huge personality. A personality so big, it would be impossible to notice anyone else. Except for Tory Parker’s strong willed feminist Beatrice. With a gender blind cast in a queer friendly company like three witches, Beatrice’s “were I a man” and “hey ho for a husband” scenes take on new meaning. And Parker delivers these speeches with superb edge and bite. Morrison and Parker dive head first into the physical comedy called for midway through the play. Hiding in the audience and underneath tables, these performers do well to lean into shtick and provide some surprises as well. And all in the name of potential love.

While Beatrice and Benedick fall in love, Claudio and Hero’s love is a victim to gossip in another way. Elizabeth Chaseley’s Hero and Fallon Crowley’s Claudio are the doe eyed love birds whose romance suffers at the hands of the- right- out-of- Hot Topic villain Don John, played with a spiteful spirit by Tessa McShane.

Chaseley and Crowley are a couple of sweethearts with sugary sweetness in this already delectable comedy. While Chaseley’s Hero is a bubbly girly-girl, Crowley’s Claudio brings a pensive nature to the role. Even though Hero and Claudio fall victim to Don John, you root for these kids to get the happy ending they deserve. A peculiar scene in act two brought an a capella performance of Coldplay’s “Fix you.” With such an overtly sincere rendition of an already earnest song, it brought on a questionable amount of laughs from the audience to the point where I wondered if that was intended.

The ensemble consists of strong comedic performers. Mary Audrey Holt Baunjoko’s Leonato does not suffer fools but commands any room she enters. Griffin Cobb’s Don Pedro is a reliable supporting character to Claudio’s heart break and Benedick’s desires. But it is Andy Wallace’s Dogberry and the merry band of scout watchmen (Madeleine Semones, Max Wright, Irena Fletcher and Maya ‘Mickey’ Gray) who follow that steal the show. Eager to earn new badges and to serve and protect, Wallace and cohorts channel cartoon-ish energy with matching sashes and not so-sure footing.

three witches shakespeare breathes new life into the beloved Much Ado About Nothing. The love stories end with happy endings and the laughs are plentiful. And when it comes to rumors, well everybody is talking in Messina.  

Much Ado about Nothing three witches shakespeare November 16-17, 21-24 The Conrad-Caldwell House 1402 St James Ct Louisville, KY 40208 https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100089420533039