Beatrice jokes at dinner about the impossibility of finding the perfect man, swearing she’ll never marry. Once the masked ball begins, she dances with Benedick, pretending she doesn’t see through his disguise as she teases him mercilessly. Don Pedro dances with Hero and Borachio dances with Margaret. Later, Don John and Borachio spot Claudio outside, pretending to be Benedick. Don John tells him that Don Pedro is in love with Hero before going back inside with Borachio. Claudio is crestfallen and ditches Benedick, who stews over Beatrice’s insults until Don Pedro comes out. Benedick berates the prince for stealing Hero from Claudio. Don Pedro scolds Benedick for being rude to Beatrice. Benedick says Beatrice was far worse to him and jokes about how horrible she is until she arrives unseen and overhears his rant. As Benedick beats a hasty retreat, Don Pedro tries to get her to forgive him but she tells him he’s wronged her more than once. Having found Claudio, she pushes him to talk to Don Pedro, who informs him to his great surprise that he’s won Hero for him and that Leonato has agreed to the match. As Hero and Claudio revel in their joy, Don Pedro asks Beatrice if she’d take him as a husband. She laughs before realizing he’s not joking, then tells him she’ll never marry. Leonato joins them and sends Beatrice inside so he and Don Pedro can plan for the wedding, which will be in a week. As everyone celebrates, Don Pedro conspires with Leonato, Claudio and Hero to make Beatrice and Benedick fall in love with each other.

The PLAY ON PODCAST SERIES, “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING”, was written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE and translated into modern English verse by RANJIT BOLT. All episodes were directed by BRENDON FOX. Radio play by CATHERINE EATON.

Executive Producer: MICHAEL GOODFRIEND

This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA AGREEMENT.

The cast is as follows:

TRACIE LANE                              as    BEATRICE

REG ROGERS                              as    BENEDICK

TÉA GUARINO                             as    HERO

ZION JANG                                   as    CLAUDIO

CARMAN MATTHEW LACIVITA as    DON PEDRO

ALEJANDRA ESCALANTE        as    MARGARET and CONRADE

DEMOSTHENES CHRYSAN      as    LEONATO

DEE NELSON                               as    ANTONIA

BRIAN OWEN                               as    DOGBERRY

STEPHEN MICHAEL SPENCER as    BORACHIO

EVAN ZES                                     as    NAVAL CADET, OATCAKE and SEACOAL

LUIS MORENO                             as    DON JOHN and THE SEXTON

MARY BACON                              as    DEACON FRANCIS and VERGES                        

Casting by THE TELSEY OFFICE: KARYN CASL, CSA.

Voice and Text Coach: JULIE FOH

Original music composition, Mix and Sound Design by LINDSAY JONES. Vocal arrangement and music direction by STEPHEN MICHAEL SPENCER. Sound engineering and mixing by SADAHARU YAGI. Mix Engineer and Dialogue Editor: LARRY WALSH. Podcast Mastering by GREG CORTEZ at New Monkey Studio. Coordinating Producer: TRANSCEND STREAMING (KYRA BOWIE and LEANNA KEYES).

The Play On Podcast Series “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING” is produced by NEXT CHAPTER PODCASTS and is made possible by the generous support of THE HITZ FOUNDATION. Visit NEXTCHAPTERPODCASTS.COM for more about the Play On Podcast Series. Visit PLAYONSHAKESPEARE.ORG for more about Play On Shakespeare.

Subscribe to Play On Premium for ad-free episodes and join our Patreon for exclusive merchandise and early commercial-free releases. Go to nextchapterpodcasts.com for our Bonus Content, where you’ll find interviews with the artists, producers and engineers who brought it all to life. And remember: “The world must be peopled!”

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