Much Ado about Nothing is a Shakespearean comedy set in Messina, Italy. The play is a deluge of love and deception: some characters get tricked into falling in love, others get tricked into breaking off a marriage. One of the play’s main couples, Claudio and Hero, face a lot of drama when Claudio is tricked by the dishonorable Don John into thinking Hero had an affair. Instead of confronting Hero about the “affair”, Claudio decides to slander Hero at the altar. Hero is crestfallen and faints from extreme distress. The Friar tells Hero she can reclaim her reputation by pretending to be dead. Claudio falls for this lie and feels extreme guilt. But of course, like all Shakespearean comedies, it works out and Claudio and Hero end up getting married. Hero and Claudio’s enemies to lover storyline is somewhat contrasted with the other two main characters of the play, Beatrice and Benedick. Beatrice and Benedick bicker a lot, but most people would say that they have a deeper connection than Claudio and Hero. While Much Ado about Nothing is filled with witty lines, a lot is still up to the actors’ imagination. With that being said, the 2011 Wyndham Theater version and the 2024 Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s version of the comedy are very different from each other. While both of these productions were effective, the 2024 staging was the most successful because of the set and the portrayal of Claudio’s character.

The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production of the play has a more logical, yet still creative, set design. It takes place in a beautiful vineyard which seems more fitting for the antiquated words of Shakespeare compared to the beach town in the 2011 version. The 2011 production’s set almost appears empty next to the 2024 version. The Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s stage consisted of Leonato’s house, a bar and even a grape stomping vat; meanwhile, the 2011 production had a bare rotating stage resembling a courtyard. The design of the 2024 set not only made what was happening in the scenes clearer, but it allowed the actors to get more creative with blocking. For example, Kelly Mengelkoch, who plays Beatrice in the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s production, was able to climb on the roof of Leonato’s house while eavesdropping in on her cousin Hero. The addition of the bar also added more humor to the play. For instance, Geoffrey Warren Barnes II (Benedick) tries to repeatedly open a wine bottle but fails every time. These additions to the play wouldn’t have made sense without the elaborate design of the set. In conclusion, the traditional set of the 2024 production is more effective because it takes place in a more logical time period, and it allows for more creativity from the actors.

In addition, the 2024 production of Much Ado about Nothing more accurately represents Claudio’s immaturity. In the 2024 version, Claudio- who is played by Ray Soeun- is often seen pouting and sticking out his tongue like a child. This is a more valid representation of Claudio’s character than the valiant soldier who can do no wrong played by Tom Bateman in the Wyndham Theater production. To sum it up, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company succeeds in showing how naive and childish Claudio behaved.

In short, the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s staging is more successful because they are able to creatively connect the traditional set with additional modern-day jokes and effectively portray character’s flaws. Keeping a traditional set in the 2024 production allows the audience to better follow the storyline, while the modern-day jokes help keep the audience engaged. In addition, portraying Claudio as childish calls out the sexism during the time period. Many of the characters sided with Claudio before actually talking to Hero, which shows how a man was almost always believed before a woman. Combining the traditional set, modern day quips, and the slight change to Claudio’s character archetype reminds us of the role that sexism played in society, while still putting on an amusing show.