(WESTFIELD, NJ) -- Westfield Community Players presents Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing with flappers and gangsters a la Al Capone? Performances run across three weekends (October 11-25, 2025).
Not quite how the Bard imagined it, but his comedy of love and deception transposes easily onto the Jazz age in this production, where the champagne and witticisms flow in equal abundance.
At the center of the play are Beatrice and Benedick, each determined to avoid love and remain single at any cost — but no less drawn to spar verbally with one another whenever they meet. Is the deception here self-deception and could the sparring be a sign of mutual attraction? Benedick’s army buddies, Don Pedro and Claudio, decide to find out, and they have no qualms about using outright trickery to play Cupid and bring the unlikely pair together.
Meanwhile, Claudio develops romantic problems of his own when the play’s villain, Don John, seems to show him his bride-to-be, Hero, being unfaithful on the night before their wedding. It’s yet more trickery, but before the trick is brought to light by the bumbling police work of Constable Dogberry and the Watch, hearts are broken and a wedding is ruined...Or is it just postponed?
Performances take place October 11, 18, 24, 25 at 8:00pm; October 12,19 at 2:00pm. Tickets are available for purchase online. Westfield Community Players is located at 1000 North Avenue W in Westfield, New Jersey.
The cast includes Sarah Stirling (Beatrice), Sean Buckley (Benedick), Hannah Portmann (Hero), Devin Freeman (Claudio), Jennifer Padley (Ursula), Eric Williams (Dogberry), CJ Geronimo (The Watch), Dan Salemson (The Watch), Ed Faver (Leonato), Tim McGovern (Don Pedro), Laura Anthony (Don John), Jason Benjamin (Borachio), Kathy Quinn Vaccari (Friar), and Anastasiya Shpilevskaya (Margaret).
The production is directed by David Baker; producer is Kay Macrae; and stage manager is Amanda Zelinski.
Westfield Community Players (WCP), founded in 1934, has brought more than 300 comedies, dramas, musicals and mysteries to life on our stage. All productions are presented in their own 150 seat theater on the corner of Edgewood Avenue and North Avenue West in Westfield. With their productions, we continue to be part of the active cultural scene in Westfield and surrounding communities.
WCP is committed to offering hands-on participation for those wishing to learn more about various aspects of live theatrical production and performance while providing a varied theater experience to a broad audience. They do that by actively seeking volunteers to keep their theater functioning, and by maintaining an open-casting policy where everyone can audition for all of their scheduled plays. The key to their success and longevity is the hard work and dedication of their numerous volunteer members.
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