British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Much Ado About Nothing

Synopsis
A televised adaptation of the New York Shakespeare Festival Production by Joseph Papp, set at the beginning of the 20th century, featuring Teddy Roosevelt roughriders and bicycle-riding women suffragettes. This production originated at the open-air Delacorte Theatre in Central Park, transferred to Broadway, and was perceived as the first successful Shakespeare play to be staged without a major star in Broadway history. According to Radio Times, this "highly successful and highly inventive production sets Shakespeare’s comedy in the small-town America of 1910 - where the characters step into high-button shoes and spats amid such post-Shakespeare innovations as the motor-car, cigarette-puffing symbols of early Women’s Lib - and the Keystone Kops" (14-20 September 1974, p.25).
Series
Broadway Classic Collection
Language
English
Country
United States
Medium
Television; Video
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
2004
Year of production
1972
Subjects
Drama
Keywords
Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); New York Shakespeare Festival; Shakespeare Marathon (1987-1997)

Credits

Director
A.J. Antoon
Producer
Joseph Papp
Writer
William Shakespeare
Music
Peter Link
Costume
Theoni V. Aldredge
Cast
Amy Freeman 
April Shawn 
Barnard Hughes 
Bette Henritze 
Charles Barnett 
Douglass Watson 
Frederick Coffin 
Glenn Walken 
Jack Gianio 
Jean Hepple 
Jerry Mayer 
Kathleen Widdoes 
Mark Hammer 
Marshall Efron 
Sam Waterston 
Will MacKenzie 

Distribution Formats

Type
DVD
Format
Region 2 PAL
Price
£19.99
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
155 minutes
Year
2004

Type
VHS
Format
PAL
Price
£19.99
Availability
Sale
Duration/Size
155 minutes
Year
2004

Production Company

Name

CBS Television

Sponsor

Name

IBM

Distributor (Sale)

Name

National Theatre Bookshop

Email
bookshop@nationaltheatre.org.uk
Web
http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/28853/dvds/dvds.html External site opens in new window
Phone
020 7452 3456
Fax
020 7452 33457
Address
South Bank
London
SE1 9PX
Notes
The NT bookshop provides an online service supplying DVDs of stage performances and film or television adaptations of plays.

Online Retailer

Name

Broadway Theatre Archive

Web
http://www.BroadwayArchive.co.uk/ External site opens in new window
View this record on the Shakespeare site for additional details

Record Stats

This record has been viewed 466 times.