Weathervane to stage Shakespeare comedy

The director has set the play in pre-Revolutionary America.
By L. CROW
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
There is a certain timelessness about Shakespeare comedies. His twisted plots usually involve mistaken identities, schemes that backfire, tender romance (and sometimes not-so tender), and people who meddle with good intentions. But in the end, love and laughter prevail, and everything turns out for the best.
The Weathervane Community Playhouse in Akron will present "Much Ado About Nothing," and director Larry Nehring thinks that Shakespeare's plays can be set in any time period. Nehring, artistic director of the Cleveland Shakespeare Festival for his sixth season, said this is "quite nearly a perfect play," and has chosen to set it in America -- in the pre-Revolutionary period -- in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the French and Indian War. The original play was set in Italy, as soldiers returned from war.
Mark Zimmerman, who is theater director at Firestone High School of the Visual and Performing Arts and plays the part of Benedick, thinks people will easily connect with this play. "It is one of the most accessible Shakespeare comedies, and the one that seems the most modern," Zimmerman said. "He gets right to the plot. The curtain opens, and people show up for a party. Setting it in America will make it even easier to grasp, but otherwise, there is very little difference from the original. This play is truly universal. Larry [Nehring] said, 'I'll do anything to make this play funny or better,' and if Shakespeare were alive today, he probably would have done the same."
A lot going on
As typical with Shakespeare, there are many things going on at once, but much of the comedy centers on two sets of lovers: Claudio and Hero are young and impetuous, and there is an immediate physical attraction. The other couple is older and mature.
"There are hints of a previous relationship between Beatrice and Benedick," Zimmerman said. "They are set apart from the other characters and live life at a different speed. They are funnier, wittier and very strong individuals who attract and repel each other at the same time. They are meant for each other, yet swear they are against love and marriage, and have to be tricked into falling in love. This is fun for the audience, waiting for it to happen, because they know the couple will get together, but they just don't know how."
Nehring agrees that the scene where they finally reveal their love for each other is one of the most humorous in the play. "It is so much fun because the audience can see both sides," he said. "The funniest character, however, is Dogberry, the constable, with his misuse of the English language."
Nehring also said that it is not necessarily the characters themselves that make this play so comical, but the situation.
Praise for the director
Zimmerman said that working with Nehring has been a wonderful experience. "In Shakespeare there are so many different choices to be made," he said. "We did lots of 'table work': sitting down at the table and going through every word, asking, 'What did Shakespeare mean?' It has been fascinating for me as an educator and actor, pulling apart the whole play and putting it back together again. All of us know this play now better than any other. Shakespeare chooses each word for a reason, and it is important to know why."
"I kept forgetting a line," he said. "It began with the word an and for some reason, I couldn't remember this word. It wasn't until someone pointed out what it meant in the vernacular that it finally made sense. An meant if in this case." Another example of Shakespeare's use of certain words with double meaning is in the title itself. "Nothing can also mean noting, or noticing," Zimmerman said. "Much of the humor in the play involves people eavesdropping, or noticing things. That is also one of the reasons the set is two-story. It provides a place where people can eavesdrop from above."
Zimmerman said another interesting thing the actors will be doing is going out into the audience and talking directly to people. Shakespeare typically has characters speak to the audience.
Nehring said he has directed about half of Shakespeare's plays but keeps coming back to this favorite. In addition, he has acted, directed and choreographed fights for almost every theater in the Cleveland area, and will play George Washington in the PBS miniseries "The War That Made America," which will air in January.