Much Ado About Nothing

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Nicholas Martin-Smith
Produced by Hudson Warehouse


Nominations: Outstanding Revival of a Play; Emily Rose Parman for Outstanding Costume Design

Benedick (Greg Horton), Claudio (George K. Wells), Don Pedro (Paul Singleton), Balthasar (Nate Mattingly) Photo by Susane Lee

About the Company: Hudson Warehouse's mission is to provide quality, exciting, innovative, and affordable classical theater to the community. The Warehouse believes theater is a "ware" and essential for daily life. To this end, the Warehouse doesn't sell tickets, but has a "pay what you can" policy because the arts should be affordable to everyone. Those unable to pay are still welcome because the Warehouse believes everyone deserves to have the theater experience, because theater is so essential to what makes us human.

About the Production: A peace treaty is signed and the war between Prince Pedro and his brother Don John is over. Well-deserved R & R on the estate of Don Leonato brings with it: Friendship, Love, Conspiracy and Betrayal. For “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop.”

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What attracted you to this project?

Susane:  Benedick and Beatrice is usually cast with younger actors, but Nicholas Martin-Smith, the director, and I felt the story would be more profound and meaningful if the actors cast in the title roles were older. When you're older and haven't found your match, then love is even more hard-won. Greg Horton and Roxann Kraemer, two very fine actors, were the perfect match for this production. Once they were on board, we knew this production would be special.

What was your favorite part of working on this production?

Susane: Getting to work with Greg Horton and Roxann Kraemer was a special treat. The fact that they are a couple in real life made their chemistry true and sizzling -- and it was also special because this was a play that they had wanted to do for a long time. They came to us with the play, letting us know it was on their bucket list. So to be able to fulfill one of their long-cherished wishes made us at Hudson Warehouse immensely happy.

Emily: Working with our leading actors, Roxann Kraemer and Greg Horton, is always a delight. The late 1930's/early 1940's is a period that is particularly close to my heart.

What was the most challenging part of working on this production?

Emily: Recreating period Military Uniforms on a budget.

What did you hope the audience would take away from this production?

Susane: To appreciate what we do. While we are an outdoor theater production, we hope people can see how much care we take in putting on the biggest, most exciting and engaging show possible. This includes having furniture on the north patio, many props, gorgeous costumes, incredibly talented actors and a dedicated backstage crew. It takes a special kind of person to do outdoor theater and we want our audiences to be WOWED by what we can put out there, in a public park, a production that can rival any indoor production.

Beatrice, played by Roxann Kraemer, Benedick, played by Greg Horton

What was the strangest thing that happened during the production?

Susane: Greg Horton, who played Benedick, eats cake during one scene. We perform outdoors and very quickly, the wildlife in the park was aware that delicious vanilla cake was on the premises. Although we covered his cake onstage, birds still dive bombed the stage during the performance, catching crumbs that fell to the ground. It actually made the scene very amusing and real.

What was it like working with this group of artists?

Susane: Everyone involved in Much Ado About Nothing spent their heart and soul into the production, and it showed. The entire cast and crew was a splendid delight to work with and our audiences were fabulous! Emily, who is our resident costume designer, outdoes herself in every show. From the handsome uniforms, to the women's dresses, to Hero's wedding dress -- the costumes were a treat for the eyes and perfectly set the scene in Italy. A truly rewarding and spectacular experience for all!

 
Emily: Since Costumes are our main design element, I always feel an extraordinary sence of contribution to the final product. On our stage, the costumes truly create the world of the show.

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