San Antonio College Library

With his wedding a week away, Claudio can't wait to marry the beautiful young Hero. To distract him, his best friend Don Pedro devises mischief: a romantic trap for the sharp-tongued Beatrice and the man she loves to hate, Benedick.

Joseph Papp's 1972 CBS-TV production of the New York Shakespeare Festival's Broadway staging of Shakespeare's rollicking comedy is brassy, bouncy, and altogether entertaining. Featuring Sam Waterston and the Tony-nominated performances of Kathleen Widdoes and Barnard Hughes, Papp's turn-of-the-century version has Teddy Roosevelt roughriders and bicycle-riding women suffragettes, while remaining faithful to the classic tale: Beatrice and Benedick are...

Amorous sparks fly alongside barbed repartee in this hip adaptation of Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy. A modern television news studio provides the setting, transforming Beatrice and Benedick-played by Sarah Parish and Damian Lewis-into bickering co-anchors. Meanwhile, Don, a jealous studio tech, tries to sabotage the budding love affair between Claude the sports guy and Hero the weather girl. Screenplay writer David Nicholls cleverly weaves...

Writer Eleanor Bron gives her personal view of Shakespeare's play Much Ado About Nothing. In her introduction to the play, she describes the merry courtship between Beatrice and Benedick as "one of the least sentimental and most romantic in all literature."

Korgnold's original 1920 score was reconstructed for this performance, featuring the University of North Carolina School of the Arts Drama Soloists and Symphony Orchestra. Conducted by John Mauceri.

Claudio and Hero are engaged, but the jealous Don John tries to thwart the wedding by denouncing Hero as unchaste. Meanwhile, Beatrice and Benedick, who scorn each other, become betrothed as a result of the schemes of their friends.

William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" is an exquisite comedy of comparison and contrast. Helen Hunt, who has played Beatrice twice, investigates this finely balanced play through the testimonies of other actors who have played its major roles.

Critical essays about Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing".