BWW Reviews: Synetic Theater's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING Dances Back to the 50's

The beauty of William Shakespeare's writing is that, if planned successfully, it can be set anywhere and still accommodate the actions and overall themes of the play. I have seen OTHELLO set in the Vietnam War, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM performed with puppets, and this play, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, set in the roaring 1920's.

This was my first foray into Synetic Theater's wordless Shakespeare series, and the concept as a whole. Having previously reviewed BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, I was excited to return. Sadly, their current production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING didn't reach the same level.

After she is left by her love Benedick (BEN CUNIS), Beatrice (IRINA TSIKURISHVILI) moves to Las Vegas to live and perform in her uncle's casino. Time passes, and eventually Leonato (PETER PEREYRA) gets a visit from his old friend Don Pedro (PHILIP FLETCHER) and his biker gang, which includes Benedick and the young, handsome Claudio (SCOTT BROWN). Claudio and Leonato's daughter Hero (EMILY WHITWORTH) quickly fall in love, and scheme to make Beatrice and Benedick do the same. When Don John (DALLAS TOLENTINO) and his entourage plot to ruin Hero and Claudio's wedding and lives, it is up to everyone to fix the damage and ensure the two couples reach a happy ending.

Director PAATA TSIKURISHVILI sets the play in glitzy, tacky 1950's Vegas. The ensemble characters are showgirls, card dealers, and casino attendees, and the main characters are either part of the casino family or the biker gang. While the concept and setting are appreciated, it struggled to maintain a balance with the action of the show. Some scenes felt like a pantomimed after-school special, others, which included heavy drug use, seemed to go too far. Overall, instead of performing the actions of the show, the tone almost seemed to be more making fun of it, and at times, it dwelled too far into the ludicrous.

As previously stated, what I loved about Synetic's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was the stellar production value. However, in this show, it alters. Set designer DANIEL PINHA chose a strange, not completely readable red color for the stairs, and frankly, it was too plain and looked rushed. The stage was also too small for the biker gang, who ran around pushing the fronts of bicycles as best they could.

Costume Designer KENDRA RAI crafted plenty of fun dresses and leather jackets for the biker gang "Syneticon", but many of the costumes faded into the set. For instance, in one scene, Hero wears a light pink dress which made her harder to notice against the background. For ensemble characters to stand out, their costume colors should help. The showgirl and male dancer costumes were also ill-fitting and hard to watch during Beatrice's musical number.

Music Director IRAKLI KAVSADZE and Sound Editor and Resident Composer KONSTANTINE LORTKIPANIDZE provide the production with a wealth of fun music, mostly instrumental adaptations of 50's favorites. While the beginning of the show suffered volume and bass level issues, overall, the music maintained a fun jive.

As Beatrice and Benedick, Cunis and Tsikurishvili struggled to maintain chemistry. Both are wonderful dancers, and fun to watch; however, with all going on around them, it made it harder to focus on what they were doing.

The major highlight of this show comes from brilliantly hilarious performances by VATO TSIKURISHVILI as Dogberry, JUSTIN J. BELL as Balthasar and Friar Francis, and ZANA GANKHUYANG as Verges. These three had excellent comedic timing and presence as the casino guards, and Bell's Friar Francis was just fun. One scene in the casino jail received huge belly laughs, and deservedly so. If the production had let these three be the most ridiculous element, it would have been a lot more balanced and successful.

While I am not opposed to the concept of wordless Shakespeare's presence along with other forms of adaptation, this production, compared to others I have seen and heard about from Synetic Theater suffers from a lack of cohesion. Though many parts were fun to watch, as a whole, this production just wasn't as good as I'd hoped.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING plays through March 22nd at Synetic Theater in Crystal City. For more information, visit the production page.

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