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Photo: Aquila Theater's production of William Shakespeare's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; Desiree Sanchez, Director/Adaptor/Production Designer;  
Cast:  Lincoln Hudson, Palmyra Mattner & Toby Miller; Photo Call & Dress Rehearsal:  Saturday, September 24, 2016; 1:30 PM at Western Connecticut State University Visual and Performing Arts Center; Danbury, CT; Photograph: © 2016 Richard Termine 
PHOTO CREDIT - Richard Termine
Photo: Aquila Theater's production of William Shakespeare's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING; Desiree Sanchez, Director/Adaptor/Production Designer; Cast: Lincoln Hudson, Palmyra Mattner & Toby Miller; Photo Call & Dress Rehearsal: Saturday, September 24, 2016; 1:30 PM at Western Connecticut State University Visual and Performing Arts Center; Danbury, CT; Photograph: © 2016 Richard Termine PHOTO CREDIT - Richard Termine

Review: Group satisfied with unique production of 'Much Ado About Nothing'

The first production of Popejoy’s performance season was the classic Shakespearian rom-com “Much Ado About Nothing.” The play was put on by Aquila Theater, a production company renown for their productions of Shakespeare’s works.

Aquila’s production is a modern take on the classic and takes creative liberties with the setting, characters and time period, placing each in a modern setting. While the original play takes place entirely in the character Leonato’s home, this setting of this production is in an English pub with Leonato being the owner and resident of the establishment.

The modern reinterpretation manifests in its costuming and choice of musical numbers, which featured music by Avril Lavigne and Haddaway. The only thing that stayed entirely true to the original play was the script itself, staying true to its Early Modern English writing that makes Shakespeare’s plays unique in the 21st century.

With language so antiquated and references made to its time, one would think that this play wouldn’t translate well to a modern audience, but the opposite came true during its performance as the actors brought the play to life. With their performance and body language the actors were able to make the dense dialogue of the play more accessible to the audience, where even I got the majority of the jokes that are present in the classic work.

This particular production may be the first of its kind as there were only three members of the cast. Lincoln Hudson, Palmyra Mattner and Toby Miller put their acting skills to work as each of them — while primarily playing Benedick, Beatrice and Leonato, respectively — traded off playing the other characters in the cast.

At certain points, this condensation of the cast was hard to follow. Instead of changing outfits completely and backstage, most of the outfit changing was done on the spot with the use of various wigs and jackets. At first this aspect was hard to pick up on as it introduces that factor without much warning, but after the first couple costume changes happen it became easier to follow. It also helped that the costumes were very distinct from one another so that it would be easier to tell the different characters apart.

The set design suited to the minimalistic vibe of the production. It was a simple design with the British Jack backdrop, a bar, a table and a few mannequins. Lighting played a big part in the play as it helped distinguish the difference scenes; without it the production would have appeared to be jumbled.

The acting was phenomenal. Each actor played their part to the Shakespearian style but added a modern twist to it with their mannerisms that gave the characters a verbose but relatable appearance. This combination of time periods gave depth to the characters and broke down the language barrier that usually deters audiences from Shakespeare.

Aquila’s production of “Much Ado About Nothing” is a better introduction to the work of Shakespeare than “Romeo and Juliet” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and, regrettably, only showed once on Sunday, but if Aquila chooses to come back to Popejoy in the next season, it would be a true asset to the performance hall and the Albuquerque community at large.

Fin Martinez is the culture editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @FinMartinez.

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