By Bailey McGinnis
Much Ado About Nothing is a classic piece of Shakespeare that has amused audiences for hundreds of years now. It is personally one of my favorite of his works, so I leapt at the opportunity to see it at this summer. This is the third annual year of the Creekside Theatre Fest, which performs at a modest but effective amphitheater at Heritage Park in Cedar Hills. I honestly hadn’t heard of the festival beforehand and came with zero expectations other than to see some Shakespeare. However, I was completely blown away by the level of talent and the inventiveness of the performance.
The evening began with a complimentary meal of delicious hot dogs, chips, and drinks with your ticket purchase provided by Pioneer High School. This was such a perfect way to begin the evening as the production itself has been reinterpreted to take place at a summer block party. The barbeque immediately helped me get into the tone and atmosphere of the show I was about to see. Once finished eating, you then head over to the amphitheater, where there is plenty of green space to lay out blankets and camping chairs. I do recommend bringing a light sweater or extra blankets; despite the hot weather of late, it got pretty chilly as the evening went on.
While the text is the same as what Shakespeare wrote, instead of being set in 16th century Messina in Italy, Creekside’s Much Ado About Nothing directed by Kris Jennings has been reimagined to take place at a modern summer “Camp Messina” with the action of the story happening at the summer party hosted by Leonato (Kevin Peterson), uncle to Beatrice (Shauna Thompson) and father to Hero (Alice Johnson). Soldiers led by Don Pedro (Chris Hults) are returning to Leonato’s house after a successful battle to relax and celebrate their victory. Among them are Benedick (M. Chase Grant), a witty and humorous perpetual bachelor who constantly verbally spars with Beatrice, Claudio (Gabe Spencer), a young soldier who immediately falls in love with hero, and the villainous Don John (Adam Argyle), Don Pedro’s illegitimate brother who plots to embarrass and discredit Don Pedro and the rest of their companions. Through a series of “nothings” and gossips, the action is moved along by a number of humorous misunderstandings and eavesdropping. And I must say, the reinterpretation of the text to modern times worked perfectly for this!
Of special mention among the cast is Thompson as the strong and clever Beatrice. Her portrayal of Beatrice is dynamic, full of fantastic physical comedy but also lovely vulnerability when need be. Grant as Benedick, her love interest, is an equal counterpart, with strong stage presence, wonderful characterization, and strong comedic timing. Gabe Spencer also shines as the sweet, enamored Claudio, who has such a believable onstage comradery and friendship with Benedick. And I definitely have to shout out to Marco Antonio Vega as Dogberry, head of Messina’s night watch, who had the whole audience in stitches with his hilarious and inventive portrayal of the character.
Also of great note is the prop design by Jeanine Loukota and Jennings. I was blown away by how clever and effective the props were. The set itself is constructed of simple platforms, but the prop design truly brought the production alive. It completely transported me and made it seemed as if these events were unfolding in real time.
Whether you are familiar or not with Shakespeare, due to the talent of the cast and the excellent staging, the action and plot are easy to follow and understand. While occasionally the actors were hard to hear due to the lack of mics and the sheer size of the space, the staging and blocking made up for this. There were several younger children in the audience who were following along perfectly. All and all, I truly recommend coming out and seeing this with the family. Bring your blankets to Creekside Theatre Fest’s Much Ado about Nothing in Cedar Hills and prepare to laugh a lot.
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Creekside Theatre Fest presents Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare
Heritage Park, 4425 W Cedar Hills Drive, Cedar Hills UT 84062
June 15-30 8:00 PM (Dinner at 7:00 PM)
Tickets: $11-15
Creekside Theatre Fest Facebook Page
Much Ado About Nothing Facebook Event
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