1. Love+Gossip+Deception+Heart-break= Much Ado About Nothing Brought to you by… William Shakespeare

2. Messina… where we set our scene
Leonato –
The Governor of Messina
Father of Hero
Uncle to Beatrice.
Brother of Antonio
Leonato is kind and concerned about the happiness of his daughter and niece.

3. The Ladies of Messina
Hero – Leonato’s daughter, a beautiful young lady who almost instantly falls in love with Claudio, one of the Prince’s men.
Beatrice – Hero’s cousin, also beautiful but much more jaded about love. She would rather use her quick wit to sling clever slurs at men –especially Benedick.

4. The Prince and His Men
Don Pedro – The Prince, he has just won an important battle and brings his men to relax and celebrate at Leonato’s place in Messina.
Claudio – one of the prince’s men. He quickly falls in love with Leonato’s daughter, Hero.
Benedick – another one of the prince’s men. He is against the idea of marriage, and refuses to consider romance in his life.

5. The Bad Guys!
Don Jon – the illegitimate half brother of the prince shows up to ruin everyone’s fun.
Borachio and Conrade come along to help him.
Borachio and Margaret, one of Hero’s servants, have a relationship.

6. The Help and the Law
Margaret – Hero’s servant. Margaret has a spicy mouth and is wooed by one of the bad guys, Borachio.
Ursula – another servant. Ursula is older and more motherly to the girls – but she can also get in on some of the gossip fun too.
Dogberry – the constable. Dogeberry is more comedy than anything else. He tries to sound smart but ends up revealing his lack of intelligence. With him on the watch you never know what might happen.
Verges is his deputy.

7. A Question to Ponder…. How powerful is the power of suggestion?
Suggestions can be positive or negative… but how much power do they have?
Your friend suggests, “he obviously really likes you.”
Your mother says, “that outfit doesn’t match!”
Someone at lunch says, “look at the way they are standing together… I bet they are dating.”