review

Bright and breezy, director Kate Buckley's "Much Ado" is a cheerful bauble of a comedy highlighted by the charms of David Kelly as Benedick, a confirmed bachelor suckered into the love of the ornery Beatrice (Robynn Rodriguez). Kelly gets the biggest laughs in this crowd-pleaser set in mid-1940s Italy, and he earns them by balancing expert comic timing with ample heart.

No great insights are birthed and no new ground is broken in this sturdy production. Shakespeare's love-and-death game playing is fairly shallow, but the big-band swing/Italian pop score by Sarah Pickett keeps things lively, and the choral singing on "Pardon Goddess of the Night" is gorgeous. When, after much ado, the happy ending finally comes, Beatrice and Benedick seal the deal with a lip lock that has the surprise effect of seeming truly happy.