Last weekend, we had the opportunity to return to the Great River Shakespeare Festival with bloggers from Cherry and Spoon and The Stages of MN. This year, the summer festival is presenting two shows in repertory from June 27 to July 28: Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing.
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Izzy Heckman as the Watch, Marina Narvaez as Verges, and Tarah Flanagan as Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing. In the background are Emily Fury Daly, Melissa Maxwell, Diana Coates, and Michael Fitzpatrick. Photo by Dan Norman. |
We first saw Much Ado About Nothing, which director Gaby Rodriguez has placed in a contemporary setting, with the backdrop of a block party to welcome back the returning soldiers. The best use of the setting was having Dogberry (Tarah Flanagan), Verges, and the Watch as the Neighborhood Watch, giving those characters a reason to be nosing around the proceedings and observing what the main characters are incapable of seeing. Flanagan's Dogberry leads the young actors playing Verges (Marina Narvaez alternating with Ruth Civettini) and the Watch (Izzy Heckman alternating with Morwyn Johnson) through the proceedings but makes the most of her defining speeches.
