Shakespeare in the Park's Much Ado about Nothing -- my little nobody review.

So, last night, after having an icky day of disappointments: doctor's visit, and three friends letting me down, I decided I needed some ME time and after taking a 1/2 day off from work (most of which was spent in the doctor's WAITING room, I went and stood for two hours in the Standby Line for tickets to the above show. Besides the interesting time I had in line (I'll write about that later), I thought just for now, I'd talk about the play itself. The play was fantastic, but I really want to focus on a few of the performances....

I won't go into the story or the whole concept of Shakespeare in the Park since most people know about both already. My main goal is to talk about the actors, especially one who surprised me! I was initially most interested in seeing Sam Waterston since as I have said before, I am a huge fan of Law & Order and find him to be a great actor. Though I won't deny he did a fine job in his part of Leonato, I was also kind of disappointed. Maybe the correct word is "amused." During a scene where Leonato is proclaiming his anger and disgust due to finding out (falsely) that his daughter is raging slut, Waterston was so animated and loud, that he began bouncing up and down and spitting like a fierce little cat (this was emphasized by the fact that he was a bit shorter than I thought he'd be, particularly in his legs). His balled fists, his rapid seizure-like movements induced more than a few twitters from the crowd. I know Shakespeare is supposed to be passionate while using that lofty, snob-like voice, but it was a bit over the top for proletariat me.

Waterston's daugther Elisabeth was also in the play as the lovely and "modest" Hero. Hopefully, she is just starting out in acting, 'cause she sucks. I'm sure she's a very nice young woman, but she was crap on the stage. Maybe it's because she doesn't possess that holier-than-thou voice. Dunno.

Kristen Johnson (best known as the big scary chick on "Third Rock from the Sun") was surprisingly great as the cheeky older maid Beatrice. She was funny, witty, and likeable even in her bitchiness. I didn't expect to like her in this play, but I really thought she was well-cast in this part. It fit her in every respect.

The one I REALLY want to praise to the skies though, with great surprise to myself, is JIMMY SMITS as BENEDICK! When I first heard he was in the play, I kind of grimaced. Sure, I swooned over him in L.A. Law and enjoyed him occasionally on NYPD Blue, but I was never really impressed with him one way or the other. He completely stole the show. He was not just funny, he was hysterical, one of the only characters to consistently get long, loud, and well-deserved laughter from the audience, and the first real ovation during the performance. His antics though silly, were all fitting and never seemed to be overacting. The scene where he "discovers" that Beatrice loves him by eavesdropping on friends in an orchard (and later falling into a well), was probably the best in the play, far better than the wedding scene (with feral Waterston) which I think was supposed to be the most impressive. I soon found that when Smits was not in a scene I was truly disappointed and distracted wondering if he would be in the next (no, I have not actually read/seen this play before). I eagerly looked forward to his appearance from the wings and just loved his every scene.

And my last bit of praise goes out to Brian Murray and Dane Knell who play Detective Dogberry and Verges. Hooray to these two other scene stealers! These older gentlemen were a delight and repeatedly had the audience smiling and laughing with a simple phrase or turn of the head or hand. They remind me of Ian McKellen who you know is amazing because he can say one line, so softly, and yet with so much power and depth that you want to be him. These two characters spoke volumes in their subtle and goofy comedy which I think shows the mark of a great actor. Yes, i did use the word, "goofy."

And as a sidenote, I've never said this in my LIFE about a movie or play, but the LIGHTING in Much Ado about Nothing was fantastic! Just the fact that I really noticed this may not go along with it, but I really was impressed. Great job! The guy doing the microphones really was crap though since it seemed the first three-four words that everyone spoke was 'off-mic' and then suddenly the sound would kick into gear and you could hear the actor. That happened too many times and was way distracting.

Okay, that was like a TON longer than I had meant it to be. The experience was fantastic and I really enjoyed myself very much. I think I will even go again in a few weeks if time permits. I recommend that everyone enjoy the experience of Shakespeare in the Park. The weather is perfect right now and the play is just so much fun to see. You won't regret it.