Cast and Creative Team Set for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING at Burbage Theatre Co

Burbage Theatre Co has revealed the full cast and creative team for William Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing,' the opening production of the company's 15th Season. Trinity Repertory Company member Stephen Thorne directs the 16-member ensemble, led by Burbage resident artist Alison Russo as Beatrice and founding Artistic Director Jeff Church as Benedick.

'Much Ado About Nothing' will be presented for 16 performances from September 17 through October 11 at Burbage Theatre Co's Wendy Overly Studio Theatre in Pawtucket.

Thorne returns to Burbage after appearing last season in Duncan MacMillan's 'Every Brilliant Thing,' directed by Angela Brazil. A longtime member of the Trinity Repertory Company acting ensemble and one of Rhode Island's most accomplished theatre artists, Thorne now returns to the director's chair to helm one of Shakespeare's great comedies.

Russo returns to the Burbage stage following appearances in 'Measure for Measure,' 'Twelfth Night,' 'Thinner Than Water,' 'Edward II,' 'Red Velvet,' and numerous other Burbage productions. Church, Burbage Theatre Co's founding Artistic Director, returns to the company's stage for the first time in seven years. The pair, who are married in real life, take on Shakespeare's famously combative would-be lovers Beatrice and Benedick.

Joining Russo and Church, and returning to the Burbage stage, are performers Nancy Winokoor as Antonia, David Sackal as Don Pedro, Julia Curtin as Don John, Jordan Smith as Conrade, Omar Laguerre-Lewis as Borachio, Andrew Stigler as Dogberry, and Sonny Wong as Verges.

Making their Burbage Theatre Co debuts are Tatiana Sullivan as Hero, Naomi Mudge as Margaret, Nayeli Vazquez as Ursula, Fred Wambolt as Leonato, Chris DePina as Claudio, Tylar Jahumpa as Balthasar, and Meighread Dandeneau as Friar.

Shakespeare's 'Much Ado About Nothing' is a comedy of love, wit, deception, and second chances, following the sharp-tongued Beatrice and Benedick as they spar in a battle of wits while the young lovers Hero and Claudio find their relationship threatened by deception and carefully guarded reputations. With old rivalries and long-held assumptions shaping the lives of those caught between the past and the future, the play asks whether what has come before must determine what happens next.

The production team includes Stephen Thorne as Director; Anaïs Bustos as Stage Manager; Isaiah Gamboa as Assistant Stage Manager; Trevor Elliott as Production and Set Designer; Andrew Iacovelli as Technical Director and Lighting Designer; Riley Nedder as Costume Designer; and Brittany Costello as Assistant Technical Director and Props.

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