Shakespeare on the Green Returns with ‘Much Ado’

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June 20th, 2018

Omaha, NE—With summer right around the corner, it’s time again for Nebraska Shakespeare’s Shakespeare on the Green. Each year, the company performs two of the English bard’s plays, one comedy and one tragedy. This Thursday, we begin with the much adored comedy, Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Susan Baer Collins.

After a victory on the front, soldiers return home but to a more treacherous territory than expected. By means of who’s who and who said what, one relationship is kindled, while another is nearly burnt to ashes.

But it’s not all bad for the characters. Being one of Shakespeare’s most popular comedies, one lucky couple in the play, Beatrice and Benedick, has been rewritten again and again, story after story to this very day.

Nebraska Shakespeare always puts on two productions of Shakespeare on the Green, one in period costume, and one with a contemporary spin. Collins’ Much Ado is set in Italy, like the original, but Italy in the 1950s.

Aside from its sartorial appeal, Collins’ choice of setting is deeply rooted in the play’s theme surrounding gender.

Despite Shakespeare’s ubiquity, there is sometimes still an aversion to his plays. Yes, the language is a bit different, but Collins has carefully edited some of his few arcane references. What’s left, as with much of Shakespeare’s work, is a clever and enduring piece that hasn’t lost its edge.

Nebraska Shakespeare’s Shakespeare on the Green at the Park on UNO’s Campus begins this Thursday at 8:00pm at with Much Ado About Nothing. The show will run June 21st to June 24th and July 5th and 7th. For more information about this performance or additional attractions part of Shakespeare on the Green, visit NebraskaShakespeare.com

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