Shakespearian fun on Yuma stage

Even though Shakespeare has been dead for centuries, his words continue to live on as spoken through the mouths of the thespians who perform his famous plays.

One local theatrical troupe wants to bring Shakespeare to life and intends to share his works with the people of Yuma.


Five Point Productions will be performing "Much Ado About Nothing" at 7 p.m. Friday at the Historic Yuma Theatre, 254 S. Main St. Tickets are $10 at the door.
For more information or to purchase tickets in advance, call 373-5202.

The romantic comedy occurs in Messina, Sicily, and concerns a pair of lovers named Claudio and Hero who are about to wed. A powerful and illegitimate heir to the throne of Aragon, Don John sees an opportunity to get vengeance on his brother Don Pedro, an Italian prince from Aragon, and sabotages the wedding.

Daniel Venditelli Jr., who will perform as Don John, explains the actions of the villain.

"I've got all this ambition pent up in me, and I have to put it someplace, so I find an opportunity in Claudio. I know I am bad, and I have a whole monologue where I admit I'm a villain. I have found my gift in life. I have my skills and I am putting them in place. If that means some people get hurt along the way, it's what I have to work with."

According to Tim O’Brien, who is performing Claudio, the young character is young, naive and new to love.

"He falls in love with (the governor's) daughter, Hero, and there is marriage that is planned," O'Brien said. "Because of his naiveness, he is tricked into believing Hero is unfaithful, so at the wedding he gets to disgrace her and call her everything horrible in the book."

O'Brien said it is only after the disgraceful wedding that Claudio realizes he has been set up.

"He has the realization that Hero was faithful the entire time, and people were paying a horrible trick on him."

Venditelli said he enjoys portraying the villain.

"It is really fun being the bad guy, and I think people will enjoy the play. They will have to pay close attention with the words being what they are, but we are pretty melodramatic here so it is pretty easy to feel who loves who and hates who and what's going on. It's certainly got all the drama you need. It is just like a soap opera but in more complicated words."

Jonathan Close, who is performing the part of Benedick, a friend of Claudio's, said the performances will be delivered in the original Shakespearian language.

"We have shortened the play for length, but none of the language has been ‘dumbed down,’ so to speak. It is non-altered Shakespeare. It takes a little bit of work to penetrate the language, but that work is absolutely worth it. The more you immerse yourself in the language, the more you find yourself using Shakespeare's expressions and his way of saying something."

Elyse Tera, the producer of the play, said the performance will be given in a traditional way.

"This is a period piece and we’ve had the costumes made to spec from Shakespeare's time. We are keeping the atmosphere of it being on an open stage just as it would have been in the 17th century when it was originally written."

Tera said this play would be a good way to introduce those new to Shakespeare to his works.

"This would be a great place to start. There is some really good comedy and slapstick in this. We have really tried hard to make this performance accessible, and I pretty much guarantee that nobody is going to be bored, and the audience will get a chance to get involved. It's funny and it really comes out.

"There are some scenes that will have people rolling on the floor. The audience will definitely - despite what they may think of Shakespeare - have a lot of fun and everyone should come out to see it."

According to O'Brien, the comedy reflects the absurdities and randomness of everyday life.

"This is a funny play, and just as the title says, there is a lot going on which has absolutely nothing to do with anything."