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Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: "Much Ado" "Ends Well" at
Globe
Much Ado About Nothing ** 1/2 out of ****
All's Well That Ends Well **** out of ****
London is always worth visiting for theater. But if there's
any downside to a visit during the winter, it's the fact
that Shakespeare's Globe isn't open for performances
then. It's not just the best bargain in theater -- it's alsosome of the best theater, period. Now I've discoveredthat they're adding to their site on South Bank an indoorJacobean Theatre that will be lit with candles toduplicate as closely as possible the atmospheretheatergoers would have experienced centuries ago. TheGlobe has been a marvelous success on every level andthis new space is truly exciting. You can become a
patron and support its construction. (Let's hope they let Mark Rylance grace the stage as soon as
possible.)
London theater isn't just better than anywhere else, including New York. It's also much less expensive. I
saw a fine Cherry Orchard at the National with the great Zoe Wannamker (and an outstanding Conleth
Hill) for just 12 pounds. And at the Globe I spent 5 pounds to watch the best show I'd see during myentire visit.
But first came the premiere of Much Ado About Nothing. It's one of Shakespeare's great mature
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comedies/romances.The informative program let me know that Much Ado is a signal work of theater,
since revolutionary productions in the early 1900s changed forever how Shakespeare was performed.
(One production released theater from tiresome realism by letting the production design and yourimagination take flight; the other production allowed the language to flow with a new naturalness that isthe way we experience Shakespeare today). I also certainly didn't know that the "nothing" in the title wasalso slang for a woman's vagina. That puts quite a new spin on the show, doesn't it? The 3 poundprogram was worth every penny.
The story of course involves young love. Claudio is just back from the wars and is happily set to marry
the lovely Hero. The bastard Don John can't handle any happiness and sets out to ruin their nuptials with
a dastardly plot. Caught in the middle are Beatrice and Benedick, who both mock the idea of love butcan't stand injustice.
Much Ado rises and falls on its battling duo Beatrice and Benedick. If they're in fine form, the show will
be worth seeing. They've got a great pair in Eve Best and Charles Edwards. Best is well-known to
American theatergoers and is enjoying the critical acclaim for the new BBC series The Shadowline .
Edwards came to Broadway with the silly bit of fun The 39 Steps. They are superb here as two people
who hate each other on sight almost as much as they hate the idea of romance and marriage. But Best
shows such real pleasure in the coming nuptials of Hero and Claudio that you know she's not really that
averse to romance. And Edwards has great fun in undermining his own seriousness with the comicalscene where he overhears gossip that makes it seem Beatrice truly loves him.
Another plus in this show is Philip Cumbus as Claudio. He has such a disarming boyish glee that you're
somehow willing to swallow he might prove just as gullible in being deceived, which makes his turning onhis love Hero somehow more palatable. (You know as bitter as he is that a minute later he'll be in loveagain.) But the rest of the cast is less satisfying. Ony Uhiara makes no impression as Hero, MatthewPidgeon is too moustache-twirling as the villain and Paul Hunter is very tiresome as Dogberry, therequisite comic relief.
None of this dims the pleasure of two excellent actors delivering strong performances in two of the best-
matched sparring partners the theater has ever known. Best and Edwards make this a show you don'twant to miss. They're competing for attention with David Tennant and Catherine Tate of Doctor Who;those two are performing Much Ado in the West End at the very intimate Wyndham Theatre. They have
marvelous chemistry too and the show is already one of the hot tickets of the season. Let's hope theirstarriness doesn't blind people to the chance to see two worthy productions of this show.
But the very next day I saw All's Well That Ends Well and that puts to the lie any satisfaction you should
feel with a production that doesn't do a classic justice. I would simply have to list the entire cast to tell
you every outstanding performance. It was performed marvelously from top to bottom and directed withcare by John Dove. The music, the modest additions to the Globe's set (in this case, mainly large canvasscreens towards the back of the stage that indicated changes from day to night), the gorgeous (and subtlyrevealing of character) costumes -- this is truly a credit to the Globe and one of the best Shakespeareanstagings I've seen in many a year.
Helena (a pitch perfect Ellie Percy) has just cured the king of a terrible ailment and as a reward she can
have her pick of men. She chooses Bertram (handsome devil Sam Crane) the son of her ward (a truly
marvelous Janie Dee). Bertram is aghast because Helena is beneath him socially and he takes off for war
rather than bedding his wife. Helena spends the rest of the play tricking Bertram into bed and winninghis love. Not a note is misplayed here, from the fully realized Parolles of James Garnon (a characterusually played too broadly) to Sam Cox's properly imperious King Of France.
It seems unfair not to mention every actor since so many are so good. As with all the shows at the Globe,
they end with a dance as was traditional in Shakespeare's day. It's all you can do not to join in with them,so transporting is their work. The Globe is always worth attending; All's Well however would be worth
circling the globe to see.
Note : Michael Giltz was provided with a free ticket to Much Ado with the understanding that he would
be writing a review.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion
makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also
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PAGEPOLITICS BUSINESS ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA TECH COMEDY STYLE WORLD FOOD HEALTHY
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Michael Giltz
Freelance writer
GET UPDATES FROM MICHAEL GILTZ
Read more
Much Ado About Nothing , Shakespeare , The Globe London , The Globe Theatre , William
Shakespeare , Entertainment News
0
3
1
0React
Inspiring Funny Hot Scary Outrageous Amazing Weird CrazyTheater: "Much Ado" "Ends Well" at
Globe
Much Ado About Nothing ** 1/2 out of ****
All's Well That Ends Well **** out of ****
London is always worth visiting for theater. But if there's
any downside to a visit during the winter, it's the fact
that Shakespeare's Globe isn't open for performances
then. It's not just the best bargain in theater -- it's alsosome of the best theater, period. Now I've discoveredthat they're adding to their site on South Bank an indoorJacobean Theatre that will be lit with candles toduplicate as closely as possible the atmospheretheatergoers would have experienced centuries ago. TheGlobe has been a marvelous success on every level andthis new space is truly exciting. You can become a
patron and support its construction. (Let's hope they let Mark Rylance grace the stage as soon as
possible.)
London theater isn't just better than anywhere else, including New York. It's also much less expensive. I
saw a fine Cherry Orchard at the National with the great Zoe Wannamker (and an outstanding Conleth
Hill) for just 12 pounds. And at the Globe I spent 5 pounds to watch the best show I'd see during myentire visit.
But first came the premiere of Much Ado About Nothing. It's one of Shakespeare's great mature
MOST POPULAR ON HUFFPOST 1 of 2
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Scandal
Anthony Weiner Admits
Sending Racy Pictures,
Refuses To Resign FOLLOW US
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'Fashion Oscars'?Nancy Pelosi
Wears Vintage
Thierry Mugler To
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WHO Is This Man?
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comedies/romances.The informative program let me know that Much Ado is a signal work of theater,
since revolutionary productions in the early 1900s changed forever how Shakespeare was performed.
(One production released theater from tiresome realism by letting the production design and yourimagination take flight; the other production allowed the language to flow with a new naturalness that isthe way we experience Shakespeare today). I also certainly didn't know that the "nothing" in the title wasalso slang for a woman's vagina. That puts quite a new spin on the show, doesn't it? The 3 poundprogram was worth every penny.
The story of course involves young love. Claudio is just back from the wars and is happily set to marry
the lovely Hero. The bastard Don John can't handle any happiness and sets out to ruin their nuptials with
a dastardly plot. Caught in the middle are Beatrice and Benedick, who both mock the idea of love butcan't stand injustice.
Much Ado rises and falls on its battling duo Beatrice and Benedick. If they're in fine form, the show will
be worth seeing. They've got a great pair in Eve Best and Charles Edwards. Best is well-known to
American theatergoers and is enjoying the critical acclaim for the new BBC series The Shadowline .
Edwards came to Broadway with the silly bit of fun The 39 Steps. They are superb here as two people
who hate each other on sight almost as much as they hate the idea of romance and marriage. But Best
shows such real pleasure in the coming nuptials of Hero and Claudio that you know she's not really that
averse to romance. And Edwards has great fun in undermining his own seriousness with the comicalscene where he overhears gossip that makes it seem Beatrice truly loves him.
Another plus in this show is Philip Cumbus as Claudio. He has such a disarming boyish glee that you're
somehow willing to swallow he might prove just as gullible in being deceived, which makes his turning onhis love Hero somehow more palatable. (You know as bitter as he is that a minute later he'll be in loveagain.) But the rest of the cast is less satisfying. Ony Uhiara makes no impression as Hero, MatthewPidgeon is too moustache-twirling as the villain and Paul Hunter is very tiresome as Dogberry, therequisite comic relief.
None of this dims the pleasure of two excellent actors delivering strong performances in two of the best-
matched sparring partners the theater has ever known. Best and Edwards make this a show you don'twant to miss. They're competing for attention with David Tennant and Catherine Tate of Doctor Who;those two are performing Much Ado in the West End at the very intimate Wyndham Theatre. They have
marvelous chemistry too and the show is already one of the hot tickets of the season. Let's hope theirstarriness doesn't blind people to the chance to see two worthy productions of this show.
But the very next day I saw All's Well That Ends Well and that puts to the lie any satisfaction you should
feel with a production that doesn't do a classic justice. I would simply have to list the entire cast to tell
you every outstanding performance. It was performed marvelously from top to bottom and directed withcare by John Dove. The music, the modest additions to the Globe's set (in this case, mainly large canvasscreens towards the back of the stage that indicated changes from day to night), the gorgeous (and subtlyrevealing of character) costumes -- this is truly a credit to the Globe and one of the best Shakespeareanstagings I've seen in many a year.
Helena (a pitch perfect Ellie Percy) has just cured the king of a terrible ailment and as a reward she can
have her pick of men. She chooses Bertram (handsome devil Sam Crane) the son of her ward (a truly
marvelous Janie Dee). Bertram is aghast because Helena is beneath him socially and he takes off for war
rather than bedding his wife. Helena spends the rest of the play tricking Bertram into bed and winninghis love. Not a note is misplayed here, from the fully realized Parolles of James Garnon (a characterusually played too broadly) to Sam Cox's properly imperious King Of France.
It seems unfair not to mention every actor since so many are so good. As with all the shows at the Globe,
they end with a dance as was traditional in Shakespeare's day. It's all you can do not to join in with them,so transporting is their work. The Globe is always worth attending; All's Well however would be worth
circling the globe to see.
Note : Michael Giltz was provided with a free ticket to Much Ado with the understanding that he would
be writing a review.
Thanks for reading. Michael Giltz is the cohost of Showbiz Sandbox, a weekly pop culture podcast that
reveals the industry take on entertainment news of the day and features top journalists and opinion
makers as guests. It's available for free on iTunes. Visit Michael Giltz at his website and his daily blog.
Download his podcast of celebrity interviews and his radio show, also called Popsurfing and also
PHOTOS: Who Won Big At
This Year's 'Fashion Oscars'?
Engadget: WWDC 2011
liveblog: Steve Jobs talks iOS
5, OS X Lion, iCloud and
more!
Engadget: Live from
Microsoft's E3 2011 keynote!
The Center for Public
Integrity FACT WATCH: Sarah
Palin's Twist on Paul Revere
PHOTOS: 10 Best Mafia
Lessons For Success In
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Engadget: Live from
Nintendo's E3 2011 keynote!
Engadget: Engadget,
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(VIDEO)
It's not exactly the Globe Theatre, but a subway car works just fine for
Shakespeare. From the Wall Street Journal: Taking literally the Elizabethan
playwright’s...
Globe Theatre At The Broad Stage: The Merry Wives Of Windsor
Who: The world-renowned Shakespeare Globe Theatre players. What: The
Globe Theatre will be performing Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor.
Directed by Christopher Luscombe, it...
Read more from Huffington Post bloggers:
Michael Giltz: Sixteen New DVDs You Must Check Out
Here are 16 DVD releases that are the best of the best from the first four months of
2010. Rent them, buy them, stream them; do whatever you want. Just don't miss
them.
Around the Web:
Much Ado About Nothing / Shakespeare's Globe
Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare's Globe, London - Reviews ...
Much Ado About Nothing Launches Old Globe Shakespeare Season May ...
Much Ado About Nothing – review | Stage | The Guardian
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un nuevo estudio determina que
Monsanto sabía desde 1980 que su
herbicida Roundup producedefectos de nacimiento:
http://huff.to/llwsR3
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Plateaus http://bit.ly/klV7Kt
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'Male...More in Entertainment...
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Drivers with no DUIs in NEW YORK may be eligible for$9 per week car insurance.Only Zip Code...
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ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA COMEDY MUSIC TV CELEBRITY KIDS MOVIEFONE
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