The title indicates this is Shakespeare. But the production will tell you it is much more than just Shakespeare. When Kenny Leon, the Tony Award-winning director of the 2014 revival of A Raisin in the Sun, took on the tasks of directing this play for The Public Theatre’s Shakespeare in the Park, he clearly had a distinct point-of-view. His production of Much Ado About Nothing will air on PBS stations around the country on Friday, November 22nd.
This is an entirely black cast that features Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black and the upcoming Clemency where she gives a staggering performance) and Grantham Coleman (currently portraying Martin Luther King, Jr. in The Great Society on Broadway) in the roles of Beatrice and Benedick.
As Jesse Green in New York Times pointed out in his rave review, “…They and the rest of the cast are black — and not in a colorblind-casting way, which would suggest they were pretending to be white.
Rather, the actors play specifically black characters, drawing on their own resources of emotion and style to make those characters rich. Yes, there are interpolations of jive, hip-hop and the occasional “okurr!” in a production that has the loose-limbed feeling of a ’70s variety show. (The music is by Jason Michael Webb and the dances are by Camille A. Brown.) But sticklers for historical plausibility are just going to have to get over that, because the result is a convincing and thoroughly enjoyable reframing for our time.”
Yes, this is a version of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing of and for our times. For those, like myself, who didn’t get a chance to see this production in New York, this is a great opportunity to see what should be a thoroughly entertaining show.
Photo: Margaret Odette, Tiffany Denise Hobbs, Olivia Washington and Danielle Brooks/Courtesy of PBS
Note: As with all PBS programming, I recommend you check your local listings for details in your area.
