“Much Ado About Nothing” & “Mama Mia” through Aug. 21
After closing the curtains in 2020 and running a limited schedule last year, Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival is back to full operating capacity. This summer, 50 years after the company cast its first play at Sugar Pine Point State Park, the beloved cultural institution is presenting “Much Ado About Nothing” and “Mamma Mia!” on the outdoor stage at Sand Harbor, Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park.
The two extravagant productions were first planned for 2020 before coronavirus shut down the industry. Rather than take a risk on big projects in 2021, the festival planners presented a smaller run of “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)” with only a handful of actors. Now the company is returning with more than 30 actors and 100 people on staff for two months of top-notch entertainment. Festival procedures are normal again, too, with no vaccine, mask or social distancing requirements. And in case we forgot to mention it, the view’s not too shabby either.
Check off #95 on our Ultimate Tahoe Summer Bucket List
Alongside “Midsummer Night’s Dream,” “Twelfth Night” and “As You Like It,” “Much Ado About Nothing” is one of Shakespeare’s best-loved comedies. It’s also a perfect pairing with “Mamma Mia” because both stories revolve around marriage, deception and the hilarious antics that ensue.
“They’re kind of made for each other,” says “Much Ado About Nothing” artistic director Charles Fee.
While Fee has kept Shakespeare’s original setting in Italy, he’s decided to set this production in the 1920s. Aside from the gorgeous costumes, he sees the period oddly relevant to contemporary times.
“He is not of an age, but for all time.”
–Ben Johnson
“The 1920s feel very much like the 2020s,” he says. “It has been a period, up until Covid, of incredible economic explosion. We’re in a world that feels a little unhinged, coming out of one war looking at a world that seems dangerous on every front. There is kind of a sense of wanting to release from the path.”
The storyline concerns two couples who fall in and out of love with each other through a series of pranks, miscommunications and chance. The leading role of Beatrice requires a special actor because of her witty, combative banter with would-be lover Benedick.
“You have to be sharp intellectually and quick on your feet,” says Fee. “If you’re not really like Beatrice, if you can’t turn an idea around in 3 seconds, you won’t be able to do it on the stage. You have to be charming and funny; you have to be a romantic leading lady and you have to be able to speak like a devil. She’s like a stand-up comic. It’s what everyone loves about her and what drives everyone crazy. She can’t stop being funny. And she speaks the truth.”
Enter Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival alum, Laura Welsh Berg.
“It’s been a longtime dream to play this role,” she says. “You get to root for this unlikely couple finding love again. You get do all of the fun, witty laughs with a great dramatic scene in the middle of it.”
Berg is paired alongside longtime friend and colleague Jeffrey Hawkins who plays Benedick. Centuries after the Bard of Avon penned this comedic masterwork, the themes of the play are alive and well.
“I always come back to the fact that in 400 years everything has changed and nothing has changed,” says Berg. “We are still deeply rooted in human relationships. We are still struggling with issues of gender. We are still dealing with the complexities of marriage. There is this idea of lies and gossip that spread. Young people being shamed for their sexuality. Everything that these plays talk about is still happening today in different ways.”
In addition to this season’s two main productions, the festival will also feature a Showcase Series of one-night-only events including classical music, ballet, jazz and tributes to Queen and John Denver. | laketahoeshakespeare.com
Showcase Series
Mondays through Aug. 22 | 7:30 p.m.
July 11 | Reno Philharmonic Orchestra
July 18 | 8th annual Prim Jazz Night
July 25 | “Swan Lake”
Aug. 1 | Reno Jazz Orchestra
Aug. 8 | Reno Philharmonic Orchestra
Aug. 15 | Queen Nation (sold out)
Aug. 22 | Reno Jazz Orchestra
