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Sandi Masori<\/p>\nBy Sandi Masori in San Diego<\/p>\n
Sandi Masori<\/p>\n
Every year, as the days get longer, I look forward seeing what The Old Globe will come up with for its summer Shakespeare shows. Earlier in the year it staged Measure For Measure, and currently it\u2019s doing Much Ado About Nothing.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/much-ado-about-nothing.jpg\")
From left, Eden Espinosa as Beatrice, Stephanie Hinck as Hero, Ainsley Melham as Count Claudio, Shalyn Welch as Ursula, Benito Martinez as Leonato, and Seth Gilliam as Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, 2026. (Photo: Rich Soublet II.)<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s not nothing at all, it\u2019s one of the most fun plays I\u2019ve seen in a long, long time. The original script marks it as one of Shakespeare\u2019s comedies, but it\u2019s director Barry Edelstein\u2019s irreverence that makes it such a good time. I really love how he always includes anachronistic touches that make it easier to connect with the 400-year-old script.<\/p>\n
In this production, scenic designer Lawrence E. Motem III imagines a brightly colored retro looking world and color scheme that gives 80\u2019s Miami Vice vibes, but doesn\u2019t seem to be set in a specific time. In the printed program he describes the color scheme and decor as \u201cacid Warhol pop.\u201d The setting is a resort of sorts.<\/p>\n
The story itself follows the budding romance of Hero (Stephanie Hinck) and Claudio (Ainsley Melham) who have been set up by Don Pedro (Seth Gilliam).<\/p>\n
At the same time, Hero\u2019s aunt Beatrice (Eden Espinosa) and Benedict (Tally Sessions) are tricked into thinking the other is in love with them.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, the scheming Don John (Jose Balistrieri) is trying to break up Claudio and Beatrice through lies and trickery.\u00a0 Chaos ensues.<\/p>\n
The non-original script details make it that much better, karaoke nights, cold plunges and personal saunas, and it might even end on a sing-along, which the audience was more than ready to join.<\/p>\n
Costume designer Tilly Grimes\u2019 creative costumes brought even more color and intrigue to the stage (that wedding dress!), and lighting designer Russell H. Champa\u2019s mood lighting brought it all home.<\/p>\n
Kudos to musician Morgan Hollingworth and his multiple instruments, which he played from a box in the balcony.<\/p>\n
Espinosa shines as Beatrice- wow, what a voice! And oh my, but there actually was water and ice in the plunge where she hid for part of the show whilst eavesdropping, coming up quite drenched.<\/p>\n
It was really fun to see Session\u2019s return to the Globe. He stole the show when he was here in \u201824 for Henry 6, even though his character died early on. It was great to see him in a leading role this time.<\/p>\n
In the beginning I was a little sad as I didn\u2019t see one of my favorite regular bit performers, Madi Goff, who usually can be found playing a man\u2019s role (and rocking it), but when I checked the program at intermission, I realized that she had a bigger role as Margaret, one of the hand maidens and tricksters in Don John\u2019s deceit. So unused to seeing her in a woman\u2019s role, and so well done was the part, that I didn\u2019t even know it was her. What a delightful discovery.<\/p>\n
Bringing flavors of The Godfather to the stage, Jimmy Smagula\u2019s role may have been small but his huge personality provided much comic relief as the Police Captain Dogberry, \u201cbada bing, badda boom!\u201d<\/p>\n
Another stand-out performer in a smaller role is Susane Lee who plays \u201ckid\u201d and \u201csecond watch.\u201d\u00a0 She brought a naturalness and energy to her roles that were a joy to watch.\u00a0 One more actor from the second watch who really stood out was Kayce Wilson.\u00a0 Goff, Lee and Wilson are all part of the Old Globe\/ USD Shiley Graduate Theater Program.<\/p>\n
I could go on and on but just go see it. Yes, it\u2019s a late night, but you will leave with a smile on your face and Whitney Houston in your ear. Really, it\u2019s a not to be missed summer treat.<\/p>\n
Much Ado About Nothing plays through August 30.<\/p>\n
*
Associate Editor Sandi Masori is a theater and food reviewer for\u00a0San Diego Jewish World.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Sandi Masori in San Diego Sandi Masori Every year, as the days get longer, I look forward…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321904,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[74,76,75],"class_list":["post-428399","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428399","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=428399"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/428399\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=428399"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=428399"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=428399"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}