(l to r) Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman in ‘Much Ado About Nothing.’ (Photo: Joan Marcus)
Calling all Shakespeare lovers! Here is a rare chance to see The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing. Staged in 2019, the cast features Danielle Brooks (“Orange is the New Black,” Broadway’s The Color Purple) and Grantham Coleman (“Buzzer,” “The Americans”) as the sparring lovers Beatrice and Benedick. Tony Award winner Kenny Leon (A Soldier’s Play, American Son, A Raisin in the Sun) directs with choreography by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown.
Much Ado has graced the stages of the Delacorte Theater many times over the years, most recently in 2014 starring real-life couple Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater.
“Rather than have the cast of characters secret themselves in woods and orchards like past productions, Leon’s rendition cuts through the emphasis on Shakespeare’s clever wordplay, never mistaking the forest for the trees,” wrote critic Winnie McCroy in her original review of the play for The Broadway Blog. “In today’s political climate, it’s a welcome sight, as is a Shakespeare in the Park production that gives an entire company of black actors their due,” This Much Ado About Nothing is, actually, quite something and not to be missed.”
Available for free streaming through June 7, 2020.
