Summer of Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing," which features a young couple (Beatrice and Benedick) constantly bickering to conceal their attraction, is one of Shakespeare's wittiest. The easy-to-follow plot allows us the enjoyment of watching two vain, intelligent and good people learning to humble themselves before one another.

Director B.J. Jones fills the script with a lot of slapstick, and some of it works spectacularly. You can easily enjoy the evening at the Utah Shakespearean Festival for the physical comedy alone. But the story's core -- the relationship between the two leads -- takes a back seat to all the monkey business.

David Ivers, as Benedick, knows exactly when to undercut a line, when to pause, when to do a double take. He has a technical mastery of his craft. But he doesn't give us the gradations of a man slowly coming to terms with the woman he loves. There's no flesh-and-blood beneath his quips.

Kymberly Mellen walks through Beatrice most of the time with a frozen smile and a strained voice that works too hard to fill a theater. She and Ivers have little give-and-take.

Much of the acting in smaller roles is college level. Robert Ramirez is supposed to be a governor (Leonato) but carries himself with no sense of importance. Don Burroughs as Dogberry, a clownish constable, is so over the top that he makes you understand why some children are afraid of clowns. And too many background roles are played by people with superimposed happy faces.

As Prince Don Pedro, Gary Neal Johnson projects the authority and elegance the role demands. He's unusual in that he really seems to be who he says he is.

The second act contains at least two scenes that give us a clue of what might have been. A young woman, Hero (Sara J. Griffin), is unjustly accused of an immoral act, and shortly afterward, Beatrice tries to get her lover to seek vengeance. The director doesn't try to doll up these moments. He lets them unfold naturally. As a result, one is organically funny, both are powerful.

I've little doubt that the expert comic bits will prove crowd-pleasing. On that score, some of the actors and the director have earned the audience's favor. It's only those of us who really care about the story who may go home laughing but unsatisfied.

Anthony Del Valle can be reached at DelValle@aol.com. You can write him c/o Las Vegas Review-Journal, P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas NV 89125.