Having seen and performed in a number of William Shakespeare’s plays in my lifetime, the hypothetical question always arises: “If the Bard were alive today, what would he write?” Since Shakespeare’s plays in his own time were such crowd-pleasers, it is easy to imagine the playwright of Avon churning out screenplays for Hollywood blockbusters or stories for Broadway or West End musicals and plays. I’ve even heard one or two people suggest that he might have become a staff writer for a daily televised soap opera. Might he have scripted the allegedly unscripted reality shows that have overtaken virtually every channel on the boob tube?
The talented cast and crew of Queens Shakespeare imagine such a heresy in their new production of Much Ado About Nothing and the results are surprisingly entertaining. The subtitle is Real World: Messina and like MTV’s trendsetting and pioneering reality program, the new staging of Shakespeare’s classic romantic comedy brings the shenanigans of lovelorn couples in Sicily to 
a modern-day mansion turned television studio where cameras record the houseguests' every public and private moment and we, the audience, serve as captivated voyeurs.
Jonathan Emerson makes his New York directorial debut with this little show at the Bowne Street Church in Flushing, and it is quite the accomplishment. A teaser video sets the tone, nicely capturing the feeling of the competitive reality genre in which real people agree to have their lives documented by television crews in an effort to gain fame and fortune. Those shows tend to be full of artificial drama as the editors (and participants) try to spark scandal and controversy in a quest for high ratings and publicity. The curtain rises and the live action scenarios that unfold before our eyes make it perfectly clear that the comedy and drama that stemmed from the mind and quill of William Shakespeare are as timely and relevant as ever.
In the program, Emerson writes what you might be thinking: “A Shakespearean comedy staged as a trashy reality TV show... what???” He explains: “We hope to illuminate the classical text by showing that the circumstances and characters are relatable, or at least relatable to what we see in our own living rooms every day on TV. Much Ado About Nothing is driven by gossip, slander, and scandal and nothing embodies these elements quite like the sordid world of reality television.”
I admit, I was skeptical of the concept (which Emerson credits cast members Matt Coonrod and Daniel Koenig with help in conceiving), but the result is an intriguing interpretation that does indeed showcase Shakespeare’s words in a fascinating new context. Some of the historic wartime back story of the tale is lost in the contemporary setting, and some plot points that were cultural norms at the time of Shakespeare become jarringly archaic when seen from a modern perspective, but the depth of character, the universal themes of the human condition, and the beauty of the language remain, proving once again that Shakespeare’s masterpieces are excellent sources for constant reimagining.
Article comments
1 - Kt
Very thorough review! Looking forward to seeing it.
2 - kikstad
Thanks, Kt. It's definitely an interesting interpretation. Might not be to everyone's liking, but I enjoyed it, and I especially love when actors and directors take chances -- and they definitely do that here.
3 - Pat Mahoney
No bases missed, but the review was a bit of a love fest. If we're this good, perhaps we need to move to the Majestic. The first review on this site was more even-handed, if a little dyspeptic, and another I read bordered on cruel, but Kikstad clearly loved every moment. Hey, for $15, you won't be bored. In any case, I applaud Kik's deft use of his thesaurus.