91����

After three months of long practices, toiling over scenery, and running lines, student actors at 91����, New England, were pleased to put on a lively, witty production of William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing over the weekend.

As the stagehands drew the curtain in Olivia Music Hall, the audience was transported to a sunny Italian portico overlooking glowing terracotta cottages and the sea beyond — a stunning backdrop painted by Maximino Merriam and Antonia Fitzpatrick (both NE’27). The actors processed onto the stage arrayed in beautiful handmade costumes. The audience sat enrapt, breaking their silence only with laughter or applause as the intricate, amusing story unfolded itself before their eyes.

Full of lighthearted merriment and, at its core, an essentially human tale, the play follows the sworn bachelor Benedick as he inadvertently falls in love with his quick-tongued nemesis, Beatrice. Meanwhile, jealousy and deceit threaten the blossoming love between Benedick's friend Claudio and Beatrice’s cousin Hero. Just as all seems to collapse into calamitous ruin, the wrongfully accused Hero is vindicated in true Shakespearean fashion by the play’s fools, and the comedy ends in dancing, merriment, and a standing ovation from the delighted audience. “What made the performance especially enjoyable was how naturally the actors’ personalities seemed to shine through in the characters they played," said Yvette Milligan (NE’29). “It was so hilarious, I found myself laughing practically the whole time.”

Exhilarated after this exhibition of the fruits of their hard labor, the student directors were elated by the success of the performance. “I love that we are able to do entirely student-run productions,” said Eleanor Stoutz (NE’27). “I’m very impressed with how everyone works together to build the show while still attending to studies and work.”

Agreed her co-director, Ethan Connelly (NE’27): “Everyone put in a tremendous amount of effort. It’s wonderful to create something for the community that brings so much joy and gives an opportunity to reflect on the highs and lows of human nature.”

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