Much Ado About Nothing type Stage

The cast includes a host of Whedonverse alums, including Fillion (Firefly, Buffy, and Dr. Horrible) as Dogberry, Amy Acker (Angel and Dollhouse) as Beatrice, Alexis Denisof (Buffy, Angel, and Dollhouse) as Benedick, Sean Maher (Firefly) as Don John, Reed Diamond (Dollhouse) as Don Pedro, Tom Lenk (Buffy) as Verges, and Fran Kranz (Dollhouse and The Cabin in the Woods) as Claudio, as well as Clark Gregg, a.k.a. Agent Coulson from Iron Man, Thor, and The Avengers as Leonarto.

Also in the cast is Spencer Treat Clark (Gladiator) as Borachio, Riki Lindhome (The Last House on the Left) as Conrade, Ashley Johnson (The Help) as Margaret, Emma Bates as Ursula, Nick Kocher as First Watchman, Brian McElhaney (Arthur) as Second Watchman, Joshua Zar as Leonato’s aide, Paul M. Meston as Friar Francis, Romy Rosemont (Glee) as the Sexton, and Jillian Morgese as Hero.

Whedon has famously held Shakespeare readings at his home from time to time, but how he managed to squeeze this project into his post-production schedule on The Avengers remains a tantalizing mystery. Much Ado follows two couples — Benedick and Beatrice, chatty and cynical, and Claudio and Hero, driven almost mute by their love for each other — who are comically tricked by the dastardly Don John.

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