SHENANDOAH SHAKESPEARE CO. TO PRESENT                                                                                     
“MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING” MARCH 28 AT WCU

Alyssa Wilmoth stars as Beatrice and Tyler Moss stars as Benedick.

Shenandoah Shakespeare's Blackfriars Stage Co. will present a World War II-era retelling of  William Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy “Much Ado About Nothing” Tuesday, March 28, at Western Carolina University's Fine and Performing Arts Center.

The performance, part of the 2005-06 Lectures, Concerts and Exhibitions Series at WCU, will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the center's main performance hall.

Based in Staunton, Va., the Shenandoah Shakespeare Co. attempts to make the works of Shakespeare, the joys of theater and language, and the communal experience of the Renaissance stage accessible to all through performances, exhibitions and educational programs.

Acclaimed as one of Shakespeare's most delightful comedies, “Much Ado about Nothing” delivers witty tongue-lashings and broad farce. As the villain Don John devises a scheme to shatter the wedding of young lovers Claudio and Hero, the friends of Beatrice and Benedick conspire to trick them into admitting their much-denied love for one another. Shakespeare shapes the ominous and light-hearted deceptions with cleverness and charm, while keeping the laughter coming.

For this production, director Jacquelyn Bessell says she wanted to make the post-war atmosphere at the play's beginning very recognizable to modern audiences, and found inspiration in classic photographs of Allied soldiers returning home after World War II.

Tickets for the March 28 production of “Much Ado about Nothing” are $10 for the general public, $7 for Western faculty and staff and non-Western students, and $5 for Western students with proper identification.

For more information about the show or the LCE Series, call (828) 227-7206.