For the Love of Benedick

I had the opportunity to see Much Ado About Nothing on Friday and was very impressed by the quality of the acting. It was my first experience of a production by UVU and I really enjoyed the twist of the director in setting the story in Mexico. I think that it allowed for a more humorous setting because the scenes were open for interpretation.

This may seem strange but my favorite character from the written version of the play is not the same as my favorite character from the actual play. I love the written character of Beatrice. She is very strong, well spoken and quick witted. However, Benedick really stole the show with his character. I love how he involved the audience and pushed his character to the absolute limit. It seems that Benedick really understood his character and understood the freedom that comes from interpreting Shakespeare.

I am a little conflicted in my feeling about Dogberry. I don't know if I was impressed by the actual performance or if the German accent wooed me with how it presented such a conflicting character display. I don't want to go on a tirade about Hero and Claudio so I'll leave them out of this post. =) Overall, I was very impressed by the talent of the actors and by their interpretation of their characters.