What a summer at Shakespeare by the Sea! First there was the purely delightful Snow White, then a memorable Hamlet and now Much Ado About Nothing that, I think, tops them both. It’s fast and funny, filled with hot chemistry and sharp wit. With her spunky demeanor and arch delivery, Kathryn McCormack seems born to play the razor-tongued Beatrice. Jeremy Hutton is charming as her verbal sparring partner Benedick, and his physicality as he eavesdrops on the ramparts is some of the funniest stuff in the play. Drew O’Hara gives a mature performance as the fickle lover Claudio, and Riley Raymer, despite having little to work with in the mild Hero, manages to give an affecting turn. Rhys-Bevan-John gets lots of laughs as the bumbling Dogberry and Marty Burt brings depth as Hero’s aging father. Truly, this is a not-to-be-missed midsummer treat.
