Villanova Theatre presents William Shakespeare's 'Much Ado about Nothing'

And that's fine. But there are issues worth pondering.

Ijames, Whiting Award-winning playwright, Barrymore Award-winning actor, director, and Villanova theater professor, casts many of the play's male roles with women. Curiously, these characters aren't played as women. They're still men in the dialogue and story and manly-looking in Janus Stefanowicz's delightful costumes.

So, when Don Pedro, the Prince of Aragon (played by Sisi Wright), asks Beatrice (Megan Slater) to marry him, a man played by a woman is proposing to a woman. Why not go all the way, as Mauckingbird Theatre's 2012 production did, and actually change characters' genders?

Apparently it's still a man's world, and women are lucky to occasionally substitute for them.

Couples-a-go-go

We learn immediately that Benedick (Leo Bond) and Beatrice fixate on one another. When two people dislike each other so much that they seem obsessed, perpetually fighting a "merry war," they might very well be in love. They pull this off splendidly.

Nice, too, is that neither is a typical romantic lead; Bond looks and sounds like nerdy comedian Patton Oswalt, and Slater's glasses, conservative dresses, and flat shoes suggest someone not seeking a relationship. Their pointed banter, the way their friends trick them into admitting their affection, and their inevitable declarations of love all progress as they should.

The more straightforward mutual affection between Beatrice's cousin Hero (Mary Lyon) and Benedick's friend Claudio (Nikitas Menotiades), however, feels as if both actors are bored. Claudio, particularly, seems unmoved by both Hero's apparent death (don't worry, it's just a trick) and her sudden reappearance, as if he knows the happy ending is inevitable and just wants to get there already.

Getting there, though, is great fun in this production. Alexandra King chews Parris Bradley's pleasant scenery as black-cape-wearing villain Don John, Don Pedro's bastard brother, who sabotages Claudio's wedding just for the hell of it with the help of henchmen Borachio (Mark Wheeler) and Conrad CJ Miller).

Mayhem explodes when local law enforcement, led by Dogberry (Elizabeth Meisenzahl) and his sidekick Verges — made brilliantly loony by Tara Demmy — discovers the plot. Meisenzahl gives Dogberry the perfect mix of blustering confidence and determination, while Demmy's take is truly unique, creating a smiling fool who wants to touch people and hold their hands. Does Verges take Ecstasy?

Faithful to a fault

Ijames's fast, fun approach might benefit from some script trims to bring the play under two and a half hours, but succeeds because every production aspect bursts with energy. Sound designer Michael Kelly uses modern dance music for scene changes, the masquerade dance, and a rousing finale, choreographed by Samantha Reading.

Mina Kawahara plays several small roles that allow her to sing and play hilariously. Andrea Rumble-Moore's lighting keeps the daytime action sunny, while night scenes sparkle. It's all undeniably warm and charming.

Much Ado about Nothing makes a great introduction to Shakespeare, and I hope students will see it. Villanova's cast, who are mainly theater graduate students, many with professional credits, speaks the play's verse clearly and sincerely. I predict those who think they can't understand Shakespeare — or, worse yet, that Shakespeare is boring — will sing a different tune afterward.