Proving the importance of darkness in Shakespearean comedy

From Malvolio's embittered call for revenge at the end of Twelfth Night to Oberon's merciless joke on Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream, darkness plays as important a role as light in Shakespeare's comedies. Much Ado About Nothing is no different. Framed by an idyllic Italian country setting, the bouncy story is tinged by war and betrayal, contrasting the ardent passions of the handsome young lord Claudio for the ingénue Hero with another relationship: the less textbook affair between Hero's shrewish cousin Beatrice and "confirmed bachelor" Benedick. Despite the play's overarching merriment, the dark side of San Francisco Shakespeare Festival's slickly staged and beautifully acted production surfaces in moments like Hero's memorial service (featuring haunting vocals by Brendan Simon and Austin Ku) and Don Pedro's lonely exit at the finale. The ex-military surroundings of the Presidio, where S.F. Shakes is performing this year, also serve to remind us of the play's less cheery wartime premise. Yet however much Brian Herndon makes for a compelling Don John, the decision to turn the one true villain into something reminiscent of Austin Powers' Dr. Evil rather undermines the power of this Much Ado's tragic vein.