Much Ado About Nothing

In Shakespeare's well-loved tale, listeners are taken to Messina, where idle people are pulled into a plot to unite two quick-tongued, marriage-hating adversaries, Benedict and Beatrice. In this portrayal, the witty Benedict is so fast talking that it's easy to miss the ends of his lines unless one listens carefully. A further problem is that various background noises sometimes drown out the speakers, making it hard to harder to follow the details of the complex plot. Happily, excellent vocal differentiation among the actors helps listeners follow who's who in the dialogue. Overall, the banter of the characters and the charming story will appeal to those who love Shakespeare's time-honored comedies. J.F.M. (c) AudioFile 2004, Portland, Maine

Arkangel Complete Shakespeare has taken on the daunting task of recording all of Shakespeare's 38 plays. MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, like the other recordings in the collection, is expertly performed by a full cast of seasoned British film and stage actors. Saskia Reeves's Beatrice is wily and bewitching. Bryan Pringle's blundering Dogberry brings depth and comedic presence to this finely tuned production. The period music in the background is intercut smoothly with realistic sound effects, making listening akin to a live theatrical experience. If the other recorded Shakespeare plays are anything like MUCH ADO, Arkangel is a series to watch. R.A.P. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine

Because setting and action are explicit in the dialogue, MUCH ADO, like most of Shakespeare's plays, adapts wonderfully to audio. Even so, this vintage CBC production could have benefited from a richer soundscape. Director Gerald Newman uses period music to advantage but forgoes other production values. Actors from the Stratford Festival bring out the beauty of the language but project verve and character unevenly. Newman directs too laconically for my taste, subverting tension in the melodramatic passages and almost all of the humor. The romantic scenes are the most successful. Since the publishers digitally remastered the original tapes, they could have left off the Dolby noise reduction, which darkens the tonal color and further undercuts the impression of energy. Y.R. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine