Much Ado About Nothing
at Tesoro

Reviewed on November 22, 2013

Annika Krafcik
St. Margaret's Episcopal School
Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Much Adoration for Tesoro's Much Ado

Shakespeare's classic comedy Much Ado About Nothing, centers around the matchmaking of sharp-tongued feminist Beatrice and the flirtatious, stubborn bachelor Benedick, tricked into their love by their meddling friends, the self-proclaimed "Love Gods." Set around 1905 in Anytown, America, a choice made by Tesoro's director to emphasize Beatrice's crusade of women's rights, the show delights not only with humor but empowers with a message light-years beyond its age.

The set (designed by Khadra Zerouali, Morgan Lappi, Aashna Shah, and Katie Hefner), bathed in orange or blue light to illustrate daytimes (lighting by Max Wilkonson and Charlie Connell) is a marvelous lavender Victorian house, complete with a wrap-around porch, windows and a trellis. These details encourage the actors' inventive blocking while also driving home this play's creative setting choice.

One character, Benedick (David Shadman), does not just walk on stage—he struts and sashays, crawls and cowers with his exuberant physicality. When eavesdropping on the Love Gods who whisper loudly about Beatrice's love, Shadman, ears perked, desperately crouches behind a potted fern he slowly inches towards them. In addition to injecting comedy with movements like bouncing his raised eyebrow suggestively, Shadman humors with inflection, sneering as a proud bachelor when mentioning "love" and later unabashedly cooing his sonnet for Beatrice.

Hannah Betz captures Beatrice's complexity impeccably, teasing with a smile and love her pride won't admit to Benedick, shaking with rage at the offenders of her cousin Hero (Lexi Ginn), and delighting all with her innate sense of comedic timing. For instance, as Hero and Claudio (Dalton Young) fall in love, noses touching and silent in the beautiful moment, Betz, withstanding the awkwardness no longer, leans back and advises, "Speak, Claudio, that is your cue!"

Masters of timing themselves, the wonderfully ridiculous comic duo of self-important Dogberry (Erica Jackson) and her squawking sidekick Verges (Sahar Meamar), gallop on wooden horses (all props by Maunia Julander) and mouth-trumpet their own fanfare.

Contributing to their success is the incredibly involved publicity scheme. Enticing community members and future audiences with Dogberry and Verges' commercial announcing "The Fall Play is coming!," the publicity designers (Sahar Meamar, Allie Graydon, and Chris Haskell) using social media, magnetize audience members to the show, eager to meet the fantastical characters.

If smiles of the cast and audience are any guide, Tesoro proves Shakespeare right: "Man is a giddy…thing: that is my conclusion."

Siena Brown
SOCSA Dana Hills
Submitted for publication to Orange County Register

Falling in Love with Tesoro's Much Ado

Tesoro High School has taken Shakespeare's satirical classic Much Ado About Nothing and created a truly beautiful new production. Presented in romantic and lavish Edwardian America, the show tells of the humorous life of a group of matchmaking friends and their determination to help the most stubborn of characters find love.

Much Ado follows Beatrice (Hannah Betz), a fiery redhead with a remarkably quick wit. Betz's calm demeanor provides a welcoming contrast against her sharp tongue, creating a humorously juxtaposed character that continues to keep audiences on their toes. Her dramatic moments are just as notable as her comedic ones, particularly at the climax of the show, where the tears she tries to contain add a depth of realism typically unseen in a high school performance.

Contrary to Beatrice is her self-proclaimed adversary and family friend Benedick (David Shadman). Charming and arrogant, Shadman's character exudes confidence, and he never fails to capture the audience's attention. He makes great use of physicality, bounding over the grand manor's railings and dramatically waggling his eyebrows for an enhanced comedic effect. His constant mockery of the prospect of romance through mimed gagging and exaggerated character voices proves all the more humorous as he gradually falls in love himself.

Another outstanding pair featured throughout the show is Dogberry (Erica Jackson) and Verges (Sahar Meamar), the two leading members of the Prince's watch. The duo provides much of the comedic relief in the show, and use attention-grabbing actions to bring their lines to life. The team works well off of one another, notably through Verges' constant repetition of Dogberry, a sidesplitting gag that continues throughout the entirety of the show. However, both also shine as individuals, Meamar with her squeaky character voice, and Jackson with her broad projection.

The set, designed by Khadra Zerouali, Morgan Lappi, and Aashna Shah, is breathtakingly detailed, creating a time period accurate paradise for the players. The stage presents a vivid blue "painted lady" style Victorian house, with crisp white accents and intricately cut railings. Also notable is the lighting, by Max Wilkonson and Charlie Connell. The subtle fading of the background lights from cheerful oranges to deep purples suggests gradual change from day to night.

Tesoro presents a production marrying humor and heart, a pair anyone is bound to fall in love with.

Aaren Kisner
Huntington Beach Academy for the Performing Arts
Submitted for publication to OC Cappies Facebook

Shakespeare Brought to Life

Tesoro High School captured the essence of Shakespeare, while keeping in touch with modern humor in "Much Ado About Nothing". As characters chase the hope for love, the plot schemes became tangled with their journeys. Although some performances were upstaging, each character correctly envisioned their persona and portrayed humor to the audience. Placed in the early 1900's, this reinvented version of the play parallel the plot with the woman suffrage movements during the time period.

Beatrice, played by Hannah Betz, was the epitome of a hopeless romantic, even though her passion was covered by denial. Betz flowed across her lines with an eloquence that was cohesive with her ability to articulate the difficult language of Shakespeare. Accompanied by humorous actions, Betz was able to become her character through engaging her emotions and body to the mannerisms of the character.

As Beatrice's love interest, Benedick, played by David Shadman, perfectly modeled his character under the humorous lines. His ability to enact the unique body movements and facial expressions allowed his character to become life-like. Shadman's ability to remain in the moment and his mastery of comedic timing was captivating.

Playing on the idea of women suffrage, the passion brought to the stage by actress Allie Graydon as Leonata was emotionally refreshing. Her ability to delve into her characters emotions brought forth the conflict behind the story. Graydon used expressive faces as cues for situations, while still keeping in touch with her character.

The pairing of Erica Jackson and Sahar Meamar as Dogberry and Verges was a hilarious addition to the show. The presence of their characters brought laughter from the crowd while still allowing the plot to develop. Jackson, as the leader, was bossy and assertive, while keeping alignment with her character's humorous side. Her ability to capture perfect timing exponentially increased the level of humor associated with her character. Meamar, as the sidekick, was comically repetitive of her leader. Her facial expressions added an entirely new level to the comedic story unfolding.

In touch with the historical prevalence of Victorian houses, the student designers were able to construct a masterpiece with its vibrant colors and painting technique. Stage Manager, Khadra Zerouali, brought ease to the set and technical changes throughout the show, allowing the show to run seemingly effortless.

The overall production was an excellent mix of eloquence and comedy, while capturing a cohesive design.