Much
Ado About Nothing
“Marin Shakespeare uses every
tool in the box….They master period dances, they people
their villa with distinct and fleshy characters, they
enjoy one another tremendously, and they take great
charge of the language, playing brightly with the
bard’s barbed words….Intimate and boisterous all at
the same time, the world of Robert Currier’s Much
Ado is a charming one to inhabit this season.”
Chrisanne Beckner, Commuter Times
“Much Ado About Nothing
is cleverly rendered by the Marin Shakespeare
Festival. Especially diverting are Kimberly King’s
cigar-smoking, sword-wielding Beatrice and Danny Kovacs’
malaprop-prone Dogberry.” Pacific Sun
“Much Ado About Nothing is a most enjoyable
play, competently acted and directed and well worth
seeing.”
Bess Davoren, Tiburon Ark
“In the Marin Shakespeare Festival
production, the quarreling lovers – confirmed bachelor
Benedick and quick-witted spinster Beatrice – are
played by real-life husband-and-wife team Ken Grantham
and Kimberly King….Grantham
and King are consummate actors who draw all the humor
(and then some) from their roles. At one point he
hides behind a clothesline and, eyes popping, learns
that Beatrice loves him rather than hating him. And
she steals the show when, quite unexpected, she bursts
into song with a glorious voice worthy of the Metropolitan
Opera. It’s a light and engaging interpretation.”
Maggie Crum, Contra Costa Times
 “King is a sharp, wise-cracking Beatrice,
aiming her barbs at Benedick with Groucho Marx-like
timing that makes almost every quip count. She’s so
poised in her self-assurance that her confusion becomes
that much funnier, as when she’s bowled over by Don
Pedro’s out-of-the-blue proposal. She’s so determinedly
merry that her sudden serious reaction to Hero’s betrayal
cracks like a whip. Grantham is a thoughtful and complex
Benedick, always ready with a quick comeback – except
when overmatched by Beatrice – but touched by a sadness
that tinges his humor with defensiveness.
We can feel his attraction for Beatrice before he
becomes aware of it, and revel in the conflicting
emotions of the scene in which they finally confess
their love.
Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Examiner
“Much Ado celebrates love, laughter. Robert
Currier has created some wickedly funny scenes.” Mary
Connell, Novato Advance
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