“Shakespeare in the Gardens” Presents the Original Battle of the Sexes

GOODELL GARDENS & HOMESTEAD AND MEADVILLE COMMUNITY THEATRE PRESENT “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING”

EDINBORO, PA – The partnership between Goodell Gardens & Homestead and Meadville Community Theatre continues with William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. It will be set in the beautiful Gardens at Goodell for three performances only; Friday, August 8 at 6:00pm, Saturday, August 9 at 6:00pm, and Sunday, August 10 at 2:00pm. Tickets are general admission $30, $20 for members of either Goodell Gardens or MCT, and can be purchased at goodellgardens.org/theatre. Proceeds from this special event will be split between both organizations.
 
Shakespeare is always ambitious, bringing together more actors than a typical MCT show uses. Seventeen actors are required for this battle of the sexes. We are ecstatic to have dramaturg Jim Bulman work with us again, helping us make sense of every detail. “For more than 400 years, Much Ado has been one of Shakespeare’s most enduringly popular comedies” says Bulman. “The battle of wits between Benedick and Beatrice has provided the model for countless romantic comedies, including most recently, the film Anyone but You (2023), which borrows shamelessly from the original.”
 
While Benedick and Beatrice are the more contentious couple, there is a sweeter love storyline with Hero and Claudio. While friends are trying to bring Benedick and Beatrice together despite their animosity, Claudio and Hero are being ripped apart by deceivers with malicious intent. Can the truth be brought to light before this threatens to turn into a tragedy? The richly layered text provides entertainment for every taste: whether you enjoy dry humor, slapstick comedy, or inuendo, there are many double meanings that can be thought provoking and laughter inducing.
 
Our actors range from ones you saw in A Midsummer Night’s Dream two years ago, to those new to MCT productions. Much Ado About Nothing welcomes BJ Angstadt, Zara McClymonds, Janie Cassady, Traci Andrews, Ahmaya Andrews, Alix Hilburn, Greg Adsit, Chole Loose, Caleb McCarthy, Michael Reed, Aaron Stine, Alex Cameron, Tonya Reed, Eric Brockman, Anna Hyde, Vidal Mangal, and James Campbell, who bring this 1990s romantic dramedy to life.
 
You read that right! This Much Ado is set in the 1990s mafia world. Part of the fun of Shakespeare being public domain is that we can transform it how we like. Director Sylvia Cagle likes to find ways for a modern-day audience to have similar reactions to what audiences may have had at the play’s first showing. She ran through countless options for a different angle to take this production; traditional 1600s Italy, modern day America, soldiers returning from battle, sports stars returning from a championship game, there are so many possibilities that work. Cagle hopes that audiences are transported into a new world for the evening or afternoon.
 
Musicians set the mood the minute you walk into the Gardens. The Whistle Stop Vagrants Union is a rotating band of merry minstrels, led by Michael Reed and Evan Giles. The weekend's selections will be a variety of music made popular in the early and mid 1990s.
 
Be prepared for more than just a play. Come early to stroll the Gardens with your friends and a glass of wine. Then settle in for a night of merriment and mirth. Goodell Gardens and MCT have pulled out all the stops to make Much Ado About Nothing a special event not soon to be forgotten.
 
Meadville Community Theatre and Goodell Gardens & Homestead have been partnering since 2021. Such productions bring the patrons of each organization together, strengthening these community treasures and providing new experiences for audiences