M*A*S*H Style Much Ado About Nothing Scheduled in Winnsboro
Local actors Leana McGuire and Nick Lockwood took part in a recent workshop to learn “Shakespeare’s Language” leading up to auditions and the production of a “M*A*S*H” adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing. Photo by Jim Willis
WINNSBORO — Winnsboro Center for the Arts (WCA) and The Bowery Players present Much Ado About Nothing in six shows between September 8 through 17.
This is a first-time presentation of Dr. John A. Price’s adaptation of a modern twist to William Shakespeare’s classic comedy. This version of Much Ado About Nothing is set in a Vietnam-era M*A*S*H unit. Shakespeare’s timeless language and storylines are accompanied by classic rock and Motown hits of that period.
Price is a native Texan and an award-winning professional actor, director, and playwright. He has directed more than 50 productions in theaters, universities, and high schools in Boston, New York, and at The Actor’s Theatre in Louisville,
This is not Price’s first attempt to set Shakespeare’s work in a modern time period.
Three of his adaptations are published (Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, and Hamlet) through Teacher’s Discovery, an organization that helps classrooms across the country.
Price said the idea to turn Much Ado into a Vietnam era show came to him while watching M*A*S*H television reruns.
“The relationship between Hawkeye and Hot Lips Houlihan is almost identical to that of Benedick and Beatrice in Much Ado,” he says. “I love the music from that era and I thought it could work. My goal with adapting Shakespeare is always to make the unfamiliar, familiar, without severely altering the beautiful language or dumbing down Shakespeare.”
www.WinnsboroCenterForTheArts.