| Tallahassee Little Theatre is Making A Mountain Out of a Molehill...
Oops, I mean "Much Ado About Nothing" by Tony Miller, Grapevine Staff |  Oh! The Drama! |
| Shakespeare. There is not much known about the man, himself. We know he was born in Stratford-on-Avon in 1564. He was married at 18 to a 26 year old Anne Hathaway (not the actress) and she was pregnant at the time of their marriage. He spent most of his adult life in London as an actor and playwright. They had 3 children together. He died in 1616 and he is buried next to his wife in Stratford-on-Avon. That sums it up… oh yeah, I forgot to mention the plays he (supposedly) wrote. |
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Shakespeare: The Man. The Myth? | I am sure there will be a self-proclaimed Shakespeare scholar reading this article that is rolling his eyes right now, but I am intrigued by all the theories out there about the true authorship of the works. Recently, a film came out called “Anonymous” that reenacted one of these theories. The film “Anonymous” purports that the true author was Edward de Vere, the Earl of Oxford. They claim William Shakespeare was merely an actor in the theater troupe that they used as a frontman because it was not fitting for an Earl to be involved with the “sinful” theatre, not to mention, the political nature of some of his works could get him into trouble. |
| Another theory is that the plays were written by a group of authors. Some say this group was headed up by Sir Francis Bacon and Sir Walter Raleigh. And the list of possible authors goes on and on… My favorite is that playwright Christopher Marlowe was the true author of Shakespeare’s plays. The theory goes that Marlowe was wanted for being an Atheist and was going to end up in prison. So he faked his own death in a drunken barroom brawl in 1593. To protect the fact that he was still, indeed, very much alive, he had to attribute his plays to his friend, William Shakespeare. |
| One such play is the comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” – which made its debut around 1599. This is a comedy of errors which uses deception and mistaken identity as tools to create a tangled web. “Much Ado About Nothing” is set to run at Tallahassee Little Theatre starting Thursday, February 2nd through Saturday the 4th with a matinee on Sunday the 5th. And again on the 10th & 11th with a final matinee on the 12th. |  Lanny Thomas as Benedick & Laura Johnson as Beatrice in the Little Theatre production of "Much Ado About Nothing" |
| The play is about Benedick and Beatrice (played by Lanny Thomas and Laura Johnson), who are engaged in a "merry war". While constantly verbally jousting, they proclaim their scorn for love, marriage, and each other. In contrast, Claudio and Hero (Adam Braun and Gwendolyn Gay) are in love and set to be married. They conspire to set a "lover's trap" for Benedick and Beatrice. But when the evil Don John plots to break up the wedding by accusing Hero of infidelity, things take a downward turn for the happy couple. This production is directed by Chuck Olsen and Kevin Carr. |
|  L to R: Adam Braun as Claudio, Jim McMurtry as Friar Francis, Alan Kagan as Leonato, and Gwendolyn Gay as Hero | Personally, I like to read the play and synopsis before going to see a Shakespeare play – the Old English can be difficult to slice through if you are not familiar with the material. I have only gone to see about 5 of his plays, but I found it much more enjoyable. Otherwise, I sit there asking myself, “Did people really talk this way to each other?” |
| I am excited about going to see this performance - Tickets are $20 for Adults, $15 for Seniors and Government Employees, and $10 for Students. CLICK HERE to Reserve Your Tickets! Coming soon to the Little Theatre Mainstage: 12 Angry Men, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and Wonder of the World. In the Coffeehouse: Reasons To Be Pretty |
