We’re in the busy theater season, so the following is the second installment of reviews of November shows at D.C.-area theaters. Want to know what else is playing? Check out our monthly theater preview.

Much Ado About Nothing
Review by Missy Frederick

A cable news set maybe isn’t the most romantic backdrop that comes to mind, but it proves just the thing to breathe new life into Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Much Ado About Nothing.

Here, Beatrice and Benedick are not only bickering rivals (who of course, deep down, have the hots for each other) — they’re also competing co-anchors. Director Simon Godwin makes the newsroom framing device more than a backdrop; Beatrice’s innocent cousin Hero (Nicole King), is a sports reporter; her betrothed Claudio (Paul Deo Jr.), a weatherman. Delightful news segments with less-than-subtle allusions to Shakespeare’s other plays (“BREAKING: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth? Dead”) are placed strategically throughout; delivered in a less than Elizabethan tone, they help things feel even more accessible and current.

Though occasionally infuriating from a contemporary feminist perspective (it takes about two seconds for Hero’s fiancé and father to believe a slut-shaming rumor planted by the scheming Don John), and with occasionally head-scratching Shakespearean hijinks (wait, why does Don Pedro have to woo on Claudio’s behalf in disguise? Is Hero playing dead really helping anything?), Much Ado remains one of the Bard’s freshest comedies.

It’s pure fun to see the fiery Beatrice and Benedict squabble; will they swallow their pride with the help of their friends’ scheming? Kate Jennings Grant’s a sheer force as Beatrice, bringing a droll wit and appealing vulnerability; she’s well-matched by Rick Holmes, who excels at the physical comedy of Benedick’s role (the newsroom proves a hilarious backdrop for the pair’s eavesdropping scenes). The sparkling duo is backed by a formidable supporting cast including a stately Edward Gero as Hero’s father Leonato and a slippery Michael Devin Darnall as the co-conspiring Borachio.

They’ve spared no expense with the gleaming set: this broadcasting studio would be right at home at CNN, and flips speedily around settings. Sicily feels like a party courtesy of an elaborate costume event complete with festive dance breaks — don’t sit this bash out.

Much Ado About Nothing runs through Dec. 11 at Sidney Harman Hall. Run time is about 2.5 hours with a 15 minute intermission. Tickets ($35-$120) are available online. 

Into the Woods
Review by Missy Frederick

“Nice is different than good.”

“Is it always ‘or’? Is it never ‘and’?”

Sondheim’s masterpiece Into the Woods is continuously peppered with little nuggets of wisdom — different lines will resonate depending on where an audience member is in their life. The fractured fairytale seamlessly weaves together classic stories, from Cinderella to Rapunzel, with a few new characters thrown in (a struggling baker, a mysterious old man).

On the heels of the composer and lyricist’s death, it’s a season of Sondheim for Signature,which has three musicals and several events on tap this season alone.(Signature has staged more productions of Sondheim’s work than any American theater.) This traditional, pitch-perfect version of Into the Woods kicks off the tribute. Lee Savage’s set design feels like a leafy, overgrown cabinet of curiosities, allowing cast members to pop dramatically down chimneys or casually out of wardrobes.

Katie Mariko Murray brings a pristine sweetness to Cinderella, while David Merino plays up the childlike, goofy nature of Jack (of beanstalk fame). Jake Loewenthal exudes a real pathos as the struggling baker, and he’s well-balanced by the comedic realism of Erin Weaver as his wife. Scene-stealers include Alex De Bard as feisty Little Red, and the marvelous Vincent Kepski, almost feral as her wolfish enemy and bringing hilarious smarm to Cinderella’s prince (“Agony,” his over-the-top duet with Rapunzel’s prince Paul Scanlan, remains the show’s comedic highlight). If there’s a minor complaint, it’s that Nova Y. Payton takes some time to settle into the iconic Witch — her opening rap feels stilted, though she ultimately soars on eerie ballads like “Last Midnight.”

Into the Woods is one of those gateway musicals that can make a young theatergoer devoted for life. Some schools famously only stage the tidy first act, which ends on a sunny “ever after.” The kiddos should stick around for Act II — the play earns its chops in how it navigates the ennui, the resentment, even the sheer terror that happens when life keeps on going.

Into the Woods runs through Jan. 29 at Signature. Run time is 2.5 hours, with a 15 minute intermission. Tickets ($40-$109) are available online.

Just For Us
Review by Missy Frederick

It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed out loud as many times as I did during Alex Edelman’s Just For Us at Woolly Mammoth. Apparently I should see more shows about what happens when … a Jewish man walks into a room full of white supremacists?

Edelman’s decision to do just that spawned his one-man show, a hybrid of theater, storytelling, and stand-up in the tradition of performers like Mike Birbiglia. The premise came out of a harassing tweet he received, which spiraled into a brief online war that inspired him to collect the offenders into a Twitter list that becomes a “digital terrarium” of antisemites. One of them tweets about a meetup in Queens, and the rest is history … or at least, art.

It’s clear Edelman attended the meetup with comedy in mind — in spite of his hubris, it’s hard not to feel protective of him in such a risky setting. (He admits he wants the group to like him, and figures he can get out of any tense situation with his charm.) He has a point — Edelman’s quirky charisma is part of what makes Just For Us so irresistible. An undercurrent of empathy runs through the play as Edelman humorously and sincerely works to find humanity even in those with the most abhorrent views (he imagines a romantic comedy-style future between himself and an adorable little white nationalist). He also gets vulnerable wrestling with his own version of whiteness, desire to belong, and privilege.

Edelman expertly crafts Just For Us to flow naturally, detouring through various asides. One is a hilarious rendering of his family’s decision to throw Christmas in their extremely Jewish home to appease a lonely Christian friend (apparently the anecdote is destined for “This American Life”). It’s a situation rife with comedic potential, but Edelman doesn’t need an outlandish premise to draw laughs — he gets as much mileage out of the mundane (like his go-to small talk response phrase, “Can you believe it?”) as the show’s most elaborate set-ups.

Just For Us runs through Dec. 23 at Woolly Mammoth; run time is 90 minutes without an intermission. Tickets ($52-$81) are available online.