When the pre-show is over, Shakespeare takes the stage with one of his most popular comedies. The “much ado” is about the supposed infidelity of young Hero (Jody E. Hooper) the night before her wedding to Claudio (Terence J. Burke). However, Claudio was deceived into believing said infidelity by the evil Don John (Marat). That deception leads Claudio to reject, disgrace, and humiliate Hero at the altar, the stunned and distraught bride having no idea what Claudio is talking about. But the story is far from over, and you can bet Hero’s friends and family are not going to let the assault on Hero’s character over “nothing” be simply accepted.

Doesn’t sound like a comedy yet? But it is – mostly because the two main characters are not Hero and Claudio, but Beatrice (Amy H. Mayer) and Benedick (Jeffrey Lippold). Beatrice is Hero’s cousin and an intelligent, quick-witted woman who loves to exchange verbal barbs with the womanizing, chauvinistic Benedick. When houseguest Don Pedro (Coronado Playhouse regular George Blum) suggests the two would make a great couple, the entire household conspires to make both Beatrice and Benedick believe that the other is secretly in love with them. What follows is one of Shakespeare’s most memorable couples.

To play these two classic characters, the Coronado Playhouse brings back two of their stars from last year’s highly successful Taming of the Shrew. Jeffrey Lippold transitions from cocky womanizer to sensitive and devoted romantic with great flair, as well as offering the most tense scene of the play when he confronts Claudio in a scarcely contained murderous rage for the harm Claudio has caused. Amy Mayer squares off hilariously with Benedick in their classic verbal combat, her facial expressions saying far more than even her witty words. Her Mission Impossible-like efforts to overhear the gossip about Benedick’s love for her are a riot.

Also providing much of the laughter is Martin M. White as the directionally challenged town constable Dogberry who is in charge of keeping the peace. Dogberry and his not-too-bright but highly amusing assistants Verges (Anthony Logan), Hugh Oatcake (Matthew Joyce), and Marcus Allen Correia (George Seacole) somehow manage to keep that peace in spite of themselves. Hero’s saucy serving women Margaret (Katy Eagar) and Ursula (Rhianna Cultrona) charm throughout.