Meandering Em's

I find that Shakespeare's comedies are much easier to read and understand than the tragedies and histories. This is true in the comedy, Much Ado About Nothing. The interplay between Benedick and Beatrice was fun to read and imagine. However, the story of Claudio and Hero was a complete mess. Claudio is tricked into believing Hero has a boyfriend and is not a virgin. Instead of investigating further, he decides to confront her at the wedding and humiliate her. Later, when he finds out he has been tricked, he is sorry and ends up marrying her anyway. Gross! Why would Hero's father want his daughter married to the man who destroyed her wedding? Why would Hero agree to marry him? This marriage convinced me the the play is actually a tragedy, at least for Hero.

I went to see the play last night at the Shakespeare Theater in Madison, NJ. I was eager to see the interplay between Benedick and Beatrice. Unfortunately, the director decided to make it into "Christmas" play set during World War II. It was distracting to hear Elizabethan language used with 20th century clothes, music and dance. Benedick and Beatrice were played by a couple that appeared to be in their 50's. Anyway, I did not like the performance and am looking forward to seeing this play again with a different theater group.

The play as written by Shakespeare is 3 1/2 stars, while the performance was a 2.