PORT ANGELES — The forecast calls for balmy weather and comedy in this final weekend of “Much Ado about Nothing,” the Shakespeare in the Woods production unfolding in the park beside the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center, 1203 E. Lauridsen Blvd.
Admission is free to performances of the comic romance today, Saturday and Sunday evening.
A quick pre-show introducing the audience to the characters and plot starts at 6 p.m.; the play begins at 6:30 p.m.
“Much Ado’s” comedy centers on two people who’re determined to stay single — Beatrice (Sharah Truett) and Benedick (Josh Sutcliffe) — and the naughty scheming going on around them.
Modern audiences can get into this 4-century-old story, said director Anna Andersen, because it’s all about those universal themes, namely “joy, betrayal and forgiveness.”
“Much Ado” is one of Shakespeare’s most accessible plays, she believes.
To add an extra twist, Andersen has set this production in the 1950s, replete with period costumes.
Audience members are encouraged to bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnics, while treats will be available for purchase at the show.
“When you go to a Shakespeare play,” said Sutcliffe, “you are participating in the storytelling experience, live and in person,” and you get to find out, firsthand, why people still flock to Shakespeare’s plays 401 years after he shuffled off the mortal coil.
For more information, see www.PAFAC.org, find PAFAC Shakespeare Festival on Facebook or phone the Port Angeles Fine Arts Center at 360-457-3532.
