Frog & Peach Theatre Company (now in its fifteenth season), will present William Shakespeare's comedy "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING," directed by Lynnea Benson. It will be presented at The West End Theatre (the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew), 263 West 86th Street (between West End Avenue and Broadway).
Performances will begin on Thursday, October 1 and the official opening performance will be on Sunday, October 4 at 3:00 PM. Performances will run thru October 25.
Shakespeare's romantic comedy "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING," one of his most popular comedies, concerns a pair of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are due to be married in a week. To pass the time before their wedding day, they conspire with Don Pedro, the prince of Aragon, to trick their
friends, Beatrice and Benedick, into confessing their love for one another. The prince's illegitimate brother, Don John, however, jealous of both Don Pedro's power and his affection for Claudio, plans to sabotage the coming wedding.
Director Lynnea Benson has directed over two-dozen Shakespeare productions for Frog Peach including: As You Like It (earlier this year with Emmy-winner Camryn Grimes); Richard III; Hamlet (with Austin Pendleton as Claudius and The Ghost); Richard II (with Mr. Pendleton as Richard); Macbeth with Jason Kuschner in the title role; The Merchant of Venice; and King John (with Oscar nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno as Blanche). Ms. Benson is also Artistic Producer and co-founder of Frog & Peach.
The cast for "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING" will include: David Arthur Bachrach (Antonio), Anny Baquero (Margaret), Ross Beshear (Benedick), Kyle Cheng (Oatcake), Nick Ciavarella (Seacoal), Lenny Ciotti (Claudio), Dennis Demitry (Friar), Eric Doss (Dogberry), Eric Dysart (Verges), Tyler Hollinger (Borachio), Vivien Landau (Ursula), Kaitlin Large (Beatrice), Dan Lendzian (Conrade), Moti Margolin (Don Pedro), Jean-Francois Ogoubiyi (Sexton), Harry Oram (Balthazar), Hannah Owens (Hero), Joseph W. Rodriguez (Don John), and Kevin G. Shinnick (Leonato).
The set and lighting design will be designed by Jak Prince, the costumes by Laura Taber Bacon, and the choreography will be by Tom Knutsen. Jenna Lazar will serve as Associate Producer. Frog & Peach Theatre Company (www.frogandpeachtheatre.org), co-founded by Ted Zurkowski and Lynnea Benson - both Actors Studio alumni, is dedicated to staging Shakespeare's plays in shorter format (under two and a half hours) and in keeping with this approach enjoyable for audiences of all ages.
The complete performance schedule for "MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING" will be: Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 3:00 p.m. beginning October 1 and running through October 25. All tickets will be $18.00. The box office number for tickets is 212-868-4444 or www.smarttix.com.
