In the News: ‘Much Ado’ meets ’50s in makeover

The setting of one of Shakespeare’s most enduring comedic works is getting a 1950s-style makeover in the Newberg High School Players’ upcoming presentation of “Much Ado about Nothing.”

NHS theater director Drea Ferguson explained that for each play her classes put on, the script is chosen the year before by the outgoing Shakespeare class, while the incoming class picks the setting by vote. She praised this class’s decision to set this lighthearted piece in the era of poodle skirts and Chevy Bel Airs.

“It’s a very joyous play, so you need a setting that is happy,” Ferguson said. “I think they made a good choice.”

While in Shakespeare’s draft, much of the action is set in and outside of a lavish estate in Messina, Italy, the NHS production centers around a jukebox diner. Though the great playwright’s dialogue is left intact, viewers can presume “the war” the characters sometimes reference is, for the purposes of the high school’s play, the Korean War.

Ferguson said her students chose the double-sided record as a centralizing visual theme.

“It ties the idea of the show together,” she said. “There are two sides to the records and two sides to everything that happens in the play.”

She expects most audiences to be at least vaguely familiar of the plot, as the classic has enjoyed numerous direct stage, TV and film adaptations and inspired countless others. It primarily follows the travails of two couples: Benedick and Beatrice, who frequently clash with each other and declare their scorn for love and marriage, and Claudio and Hero, who are madly in love, but whose imminent wedding becomes a target of the play’s troublesome villain.

The script also explores themes of jealousy and happiness and makes frequent use of gossip, rumor, trickery and attempted matchmaking as plot devices.

That makes it perfect material for teenagers, Ferguson said.

“This one is very popular with kids because it’s about that conflict in the way men and women see each other,” she said. “The scenes of the play ring true to high school students because they recognize and connect with these characters.”

The play is being presented by two NHS Shakespeare classes. The juniors are taught by Ferguson and the seniors by Dan Julian. The production has three student directors — Brittany Bolte, Kylee Lattig and Shayne Morris — and a cast of 41.

Ferguson said all the students are divided up among a host of committees: acting, music, set design, makeup, costume design and lighting. For scene interludes, the music team members are using a combination of throwback songs and TV show themes from the period, as well as composing some of their own.

Performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. April 18-20 and 25-27. Tickets are $8 for adults and $4 for students. For more information, call 503-554-5305.

By: Tyler Francke, Newberg Graphic