Musical Theatre composition / 2017

Ensemble

Composer

This musical comedy sets Shakespeare’s classic Much Ado About Nothing in a university music school.

How much weight does a great story need? Does a gripping narrative require gods and kings, war and fate, or at least life and death? Shakespeare says no. In Much Ado About Nothing, for example, the plot deliberately emerges from the most trivial aspects of life. Beatrice and Benedick fall in love because their friends are bored and decide to prank them. Don John takes his frustration out on Hero and Claudio because they happen to be staying in the same house. Only by sheer luck do Dogberry and the Watch catch Don John’s lackeys. Much of the humor in Much Ado stems from ridiculous coincidences like these.

ensemble attempts to stay close to the absurd spirit of its source material. Although the plot is derived from Shakespeare’s work, the story has been broken down into its individual elements, translated into a modern college setting, and rebuilt into a new work. Much of the narrative arc remains the same, but many plot elements, timings, and characters have changed—you wouldn’t find the original Don John singing, for example, or he and Beatrice chumming it up. The musical follows Shakespeare’s story while remaining its own work. Remarkable coincidences abound, but often differ from those in the play. Just like Much Ado, however, the strange twists of fortune lead to a happy resolution in the end.

This musical is not a heavy work. There are few weighty themes to be found, and no life lessons to take away at the end. It is, hopefully, a fun time for Shakespeare buff and newcomer alike. No footlight scrivener could hope to do the bard justice, but ensemble is an attempt, at least, to capture the lighthearted spirit of Much Ado and set it to music.