Shakespeare’s comedy ‘Much Ado’ makes for perfect outdoor summer fare

Shakespeare under the skies returns Friday, when Animal Fire Theatre’s “Much Ado About Nothing” opens.

The play, which will happen in the Water Garden on the Capitol Campus in Olympia, follows the bantering, bickering Beatrice (Rachel Fitzgerald) and Benedick (Brian Hatcher), who claim not to believe in love until they find themselves in it.

“There’s this charged history, this charged connection, between them,” said director Jeremy Thompson of Lakewood. “Their friends play tricks on them to try to get them to admit that they are in love.”

It’s a comedy not only in the Shakespearean sense — a play that ends with weddings rather than deaths — but also in the modern one.

“It’s perfect summer fare,” Thompson said. “People can sit back and relax and enjoy the silliness.

“There are tremendous characters that are just hilarious.”

The play comes after a year’s hiatus for the theater troupe.

“After going dark for a full year, we knew that we had to come back pretty strong, with something that was going to catch everybody’s eye,” said Hatcher, who with husband Scott Douglas is the core of Animal Fire’s production team. “And we had just done a historical tragedy, ‘King John.’ We definitely wanted to go on the comedic side of things.”

Hatcher, who works mostly in dramatic plays and is often cast as the villain, said he’s enjoying the change of pace of being Benedick.

“Benedick is an adult man, and yet he’s a raving little child, too — a petulant little brat,” Hatcher said. “I love that about him. He’s kind of an ass, and he can be a buffoon, and yet we’re finding some really lovely human moments.”

Also playing major roles are Amanda Kemp-Garcia as Hero, Ryan Holmberg as Claudio and Douglas as the Prince. Also in the cast are Drew Doyle, Mark Peterson, LaNita Hudson, Meigie Mabry, John Serembe, Lauren Lutz, Lynn Couch, Atom Hill, Lucia Wyss and Anthena Sommerville.

To add to the fun, the production is set in 1920s Hollywood. “Opulence was in vogue, and everything was stylish and witty,” he said. “That brings a level of eye candy to the show.”

The concrete structures of the Water Garden — built as a water feature but dry since the late 1980s because of leaks and foundation cracks — serve well as a theater, with multiple levels and even some built-in seating.

The company staged “Julius Caesar” there in 2013. For the political tragedy, the stark setting was perfect.

This time around, the structures will be transformed with colorful, flowy fabrics into the mansion of the noble Leonato (Mabry).

“We’ve de-industrialized it,” Hatcher said. “That space is really fun to play with and adds some acoustics.”

The show, which will run about 2 hours with no intermission, will include more music than previous Animal Fire Productions. In addition to live music — including Douglas on guitar — the production will use recorded music to set the scene.

“We have decided to take a technological leap of faith,” Hatcher said. “We’ve had musicians play with us many times, but this will be the first time that we are going to have a little bit of a soundtrack.”

This story was originally published June 29, 2017 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Shakespeare’s comedy ‘Much Ado’ makes for perfect outdoor summer fare."