Shakespeare just wants to have fun. That’s the overall message of Ardeo Theatre Company and the Frederick Shakespeare Festival’s production of Much Ado About Nothing. Fun, to be sure, what with the karaoke-style singing of pop songs by cast members before and during the show, high-energy gal avanting about by the cast, and the broadest comic acting you could ask for. It’s summer, it’s outdoors, and Aaron Angello’s directing style is not about to be hampered by too much attention to subtle moments or character nuance.  The center of any Much Ado is the prototypical romcom relationship between Beatrice (Gillian Shelly) and Benedick (Evan Crump). Only expect the expected: two people who are obviously meant for each other must bicker wittily through most of the story before admitting that they love each other. Shelly and Crump pull it off well, one memorable instance being when Crump effectively delivers a monologue while scuttling about on the grass, darting among audience members.  10. Michelle Norris as Ursula, Erin Cleary as Margaret, Maureen O’Neal as Hero, Gillian Shelly as Beatrice, Nathan Rosen as Antonio, Evan Crump as Benedick, Bill Bodie as Leonato, Eric Jones as Don Pedro, Matthew Provance as Dogberry (behind), and Rebecca Carroll as Friar in ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’ Photo by Cody James. Their best moment comes in the least comic scene in the play. Having been deceived by the villainous Don John (Fred Fletcher-Jackson), Claudio, played by Jake Utres as a very dim bulb, has just publicly renounced and humiliated his fiancée, the ditsy but innocent Hero (Maureen O’Neal). Having just acknowledged his requited love for Beatrice, Benedick says he will do anything Beatrice asks. Furious with Claudio’s treatment of Hero, Beatrice replies simply: “Kill Claudio.” Given the unremittingly rollicking tone of the production, it wasn’t surprising that the line got a laugh from the audience. It’s not a laugh line. She’s dead serious. In an otherwise lighthearted play, the Claudio/Hero plotline, and Beatrice’s reaction to it — Shelly’s fierce delivery of her “O, that I were a man” speech in the same scene was a highlight — raise at least briefly the emotional stakes beyond the merriment of the rest of the show. In the same vein, Claudio’s genuine remorse when he believes Hero has died works better if not played for laughs (e.g., with Beatrice and Hero peeking out at him from behind a curtain).  One of the production’s most inventive bits was the handling of the “watch,” the bumbling lower-class constabulary who unravel Don John’s plot. Led by the walking malaprop Dogberry (Matt Provance), the group is dressed in back T-shirts labeled “Security,” and well before their main scenes some of them meandered around the grounds as though they were providing security for the venue.  One of the perils of an outdoor production is that the environment cannot readily be controlled. While the Friday evening weather was lovely, the local cicadas and the traffic on a busy nearby highway competed, at times successfully, with the audibility of the actors’ lines. The inconsistencies of the sound system compounded the issue. As a result, for example, some of Dogberry’s delightful malapropisms did not come through clearly to the entire audience.  Among the supporting cast, the Friar (Rebecca Carroll) and Fletcher-Jackson’s Don Juan stood out for their lower-key, straightforward takes on their characters. Bill Bodie’s Leanoto, though at times declamatory, provided a note of gravitas to the proceedings. Aaron Angello’s set was appropriately simple, consisting mostly of white fabric panels with a small platform on stage left. Angello effectively used the entire venue — including the audience seating area — as part of the playing space. The production was set in the 1980s, with Maureen O’Neal’s informal costumes — Bermuda shorts for some of the men, for example — fitting both the time and outdoor summer atmosphere of the show.  While at times the production seems to be working a bit too hard at being funny, it succeeds in its main objective — providing some light outdoor fun on a nice summer evening. The production is scheduled to last one hour and 45 minutes, though the opening night show ran two hours and 20 minutes. There is one intermission.  Much Ado About Nothing plays through August 29, 2026, presented by Ardeo Theatre Company with the Frederick Shakespeare Festival, performing on the campus of Hood College in Frederick, MD. The evening performances will be at the Hodson Outdoor Amphitheater, 401 Rosemont Avenue in Frederick, MD. Because this is a grassy field, audience members are advised to bring a blanket or folding chair for seating. There is also a matinee on August 29 in the Black Box Theater at the Tatem Arts Center. All tickets are available on a pay-what-you-will basis starting at $0 (suggested donation is $20). Tickets can be purchased in advance online at ArdeoTheatre.org/shows or at the door. PRODUCTION TEAMDirector Aaron Angello, Stage Manager Rook Bartlett, and Assistant Stage Manager Rachel Smith. Maureen O’Neal (Costume Designer), Rachel Smith (Assistant Costume Designer), Rook Bartlett (Lighting Designer), Sam White (Props Designer), Gillian Shelly (Intimacy Coordinator), and Aaron Angello (Set Designer Fight Coordinator). CASTBill Bodie, Alyssa Byers, Rebecca Carroll, Erin Cleary, Fred Fletcher-Jackson, Eric Jones, Michelle Norris, Maureen O’Neal, Matt Provance, Nathan Rosen, Gillian Shelly, and Ryan Chandler Wilson. ...read more read less