Much Ado About Nothing | MAR 6-8 @ 7pm and MAR 9 @ 2pm
by William Shakespeare
adapted and directed by Professor Courtney Ryan
stage managed by Kate Stadter
“Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps.” Rumors fly in this Shakespearean battle of the wits. There’s trickery and treachery aplenty, but, in the end, it’s Much Ado About Nothing.
An Excerpt from the Director’s Note
Do we really need another Shakespeare production? And can old—often problematic—stories be retold in new ways? These are the questions I’ve been wrestling with this year. While Much Ado About Nothing gives us some of Shakespeare’s most memorable characters—Dogberry! Beatrice! Benedick!—it also gives us a deeply misogynistic plotline. And, as in most classical comedies, all is resolved through heteronormative marriage.
In queering Much Ado, I wanted to see myself and my students reflected in the play and to discover what of Shakespeare’s text could be preserved, reclaimed, or ultimately discarded. Shakespeare’s Much Ado begins with soldiers returning from war, and, in our production, they are angel defenders returning from the queer frontlines, where they have been counter-protesting anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric.
– Professor Courtney Ryan
– Professor Courtney Ryan
The cast and crew of much ado about nothing invite you to join us in donating to Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center.
Bradbury-Sullivan LGBT Community Center
the Lehigh Valley's only protection between our vibrant LGBTQ+ community and the local and national attacks on our human rights. Your donation supports Queer Joy, advocacy, and support for the LGBTQ+ community of the Greater Lehigh Valley.
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