Pocket Play Review: Island Shakespeare Festival delivers a hilarious and touching Much Ado About Nothing

Review by Julie Hammonds, author of Blue Mountain Rose: A Novel in Five Acts, published by Soulstice Publishing.

• The Play: Much Ado About Nothing
• Quotable: “I had rather hear my dog bark at a crow than a man swears he loves me.”  ~Beatrice
• The Company: Island Shakespeare Festival (Whidbey Island, Washington)
• The Stage: A two-story set, outdoors beneath an open sky, on the grounds of a school. Plastic chairs on risers make for excellent sight lines.
• Run Dates: July 18–August 31, 2025
• Memorable for: Matt Koenig’s Benedick, who transforms from “the prince’s jester” to a man who can create a mature, lasting match with Carmen Cecilia Retzer’s fiery Beatrice.
• The Warm Welcome Award goes to the Island Shakespeare Company. Such offerings as pay-what-you-will pricing, a thoughtfully written playbill, a preshow talk, and free cushions prove that they care about the audience’s needs.

Pocket Play Review:

Much Ado About Nothing is one of my faves. I’ve seen six different versions, including the one I stage-managed in 2015. I thought I knew everything about Beatrice and Benedick and their witty wordplay. With its fresh take on this light-hearted love story, the Island Shakespeare Company proved me wrong.

Carmen Cecilia Retzer’s Beatrice is all fierce edges. When she speaks, “Every word stabs,” Benedick complains. Matt Koenig’s Benedick starts out as a boy in a man’s body, with the excess energy and awkwardness of a teenager. Beatrice describes him as “the prince’s jester,” and we see why.

As the play unfolds, Koenig reins in his gawkiness. We watch this man-child grow up. By the end of the play, Benedick is an adult, capable of humility and devotion in love. Retzer’s Beatrice, too, tames her wild heart, but her performance never loses its fire.

Every cast member did fine work in this sterling ensemble, but I’ll mention just two. The versatile Hannah Nguyen showed considerable range, playing both Dogberry (the hapless constable whose malaprops lighten the show’s sadder moments) and Hero (whose love story is temporarily derailed by that bad boy, Don John). Connor Riordan charmed as he made the most of Don John’s small role. Riordan also delivered a goofy and lovable Hugh Oatcake.

I laughed all evening, especially during the “gulling” scene where Leonato, Claudio, and Don Pedro trick Benedick into thinking Beatrice is in love with him. They used the whole set to great comic effect. I bet the crew has to reinforce the staircase rail after every performance.

The cast was as diverse as it was talented, featuring a range of ages, genders, body shapes, and ethnicities. Under the insightful direction of Chad Dexter Kinsman, these players are living proof that Island Shakespeare believes in its mission: “We envision community where our differences bring us together in celebration and curiosity.”

In sum: Island Shakespeare Company’s tight and talented cast delivers a laugh-out-loud production of Much Ado About Nothing.

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Wherever you are, there’s probably a Shakespeare festival going on nearby. July and August are the peak months for seeing shows outdoors in the United States and Canada. Go, find a play and take part in this grand tradition.

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Author Julie Hammonds is on a quest to complete Shakespeare’s canon in calendar year 2025. In these pocket play reviews, she records brief impressions of each show she sees. Her love for live theater is evident on every page of Blue Mountain Rose. Learn more about the book at our home page.