Casting choices surprise in Much Ado About Nothing

feature 3, Issue 7, Kaitlin Cassidy, Tyler Butler, Entertainment - By Kaitlin Cassidy on Thursday, October 21, 2010 - 03:23

The Robinson Theater is filled with Elizabethan music allowing the viewer to be transported to Shakespeare’s world. As soon as the first character runs on stage you are in another time full of iambic pentameter, minstrels and English society.

The Whittier College Drama Department has once again successfully produced another play. The focus this time is William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, a comedy surrounding on a pair of lovers and the people involved in their lives directed by Gil Gonzalez. Sunday Oct. 23 is the closing day for the play.

The story begins simply enough with one couple expressing clear disdain for one another while a different couple can barely express their affection. Beatrice and Benedick are involved in a “war of whit” where they continue to mock and belittle the other. It is only when Claudio, Benedick’s friend, admits his love for Hero, Beatrice’s cousin, do the tables begin to turn. Whenever two people are looking for happiness there is always an outsider trying to pull them apart.

Don John, an illegitimate half brother of The Prince, begins to plot his revenge on his brother by breaking Claudio and Hero apart. Meanwhile, the others decide to make Beatrice and Benedick fall in love by having them think the other has a private affection for them. While their plan begins to work, Don John’s plan is also underway causing Beatrice and Benedick to fall in love while Claudio, who was once confident in his affection, begins to doubt Hero.

The most interesting aspect of the play, is the casting of predominately females in male lead roles. Gonzalez used the idea of cross gender casting in order explore different dimensions of the characters. “This gives us an opportunity to explore Shakespeare’s language,” Gonzalez said. The cast seems to be just as enthusiastic about the female casting as Gonzalez. “I think that cross-gender casting can add a dimension to the character that was not otherwise there,” senior Julie Henderson adds, who plays the villain of the play Don John. Timothy Lang, one of the few males in the play also echoes the excitement of the rest of the cast. “Typically in theater there will be two girls auditioning for every guy, when most plays that get done usually have twice as many male parts to female roles. So a lot of very talented actors get turned down all the time because there just isn’t enough room for them,” Lang said.

The idea of mixing things up with casting especially since men traditionally performed Shakespeare’s plays is refreshing, however, viewers might spend the first several scenes focusing on watching a girl playing a boy instead of being immersed in the play.
One thing also unique to Much Ado About Nothing is the stage. The stage juts out into the audience with the floor of chairs being removed to accommodate the stage.

This does allow for a more intimate performance and focus on the action. “I feel it’s important for the students to have many different experiences with different stages,” Gonzalez said.
As a whole, the play is a delight. Every character is well-casted and the casting does add a fresh twist to Shakespeare’s play.