Shakespeare’s “Much Ado About Nothing” at Wildcliff Mansion June 20-28
Red Monkey Theater Group (RMTG) returns to New Rochelle with MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING by William Shakespeare. Performances will be held on June 20, 21, 27, and 28 at 6 pm outdoors in the restored ruins of Wildcliff Mansion, 44 Wildcliff Road, New Rochelle, NY 10805, in partnership with the New Rochelle Council on the Arts. Admission is free with a suggested donation of $10.
Written circa 1598, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING is a comedy set at the end of a war, at a time when people are allowing themselves to believe they have a future. Their emotions are thawing out after a period of national trauma. Soldiers are struggling to re-enter the civilian world; survivors are struggling to re-form the bonds of family and friendship. Like any Shakespeare play, this is a piece that reaches across time to shake us by our collective cultural lapels. It confronts us with a wealth of ideas that couldn’t be more current – gender roles, infidelity, generational divides – and hope.
“Much Ado is mostly remembered by audiences for the wit of Beatrice and Benedick, the bickering couple whose brilliant language hides their vulnerabilities,” said RMTG Artistic Director Tal Aviezer. “But above all, this play is about a struggle of love, trust, and forgiveness against pride, fear, and envy. In this struggle, wit is sometimes a delicious poison – a tool we use to speak to each other without listening. And the moments when characters in this play really listen to each other are the moments when hearts – and lives – can be won or lost.”
“I think it is, at heart, a play about finding a way forward after an enormous cultural divide,” said Writer-in-Residence Amy Frey. “It’s figuring out how to love and trust again after a country has been ripped apart, and all of the heart-ache, awkwardness, and humor that can go with that.” The play is directed by Amy Frey and Tal Aviezer, who also play Beatrice and Benedick. The cast also includes Yannik Encarnação, Nick Leshi, Derek Tarson, Margaret Gorrell, Sean Demers, Sean Coffey, and Ariel Francoeur. The stage manager is Grace Terdoslavich and the choreographer is Danielle Aviezer.
About Red Monkey Theater Group
Founded in 1999, the Red Monkey Theater Group (RMTG) is the resident theater company at historic Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and Gardens in the Bronx’s Pelham Bay Park. They are a non-profit performing arts company dedicated to enriching local communities through the cultivation, creation, and presentation of live classical and contemporary theater. In 2016, they began regular partnerships with an ever-expanding network of cultural organizations and historical sites, including Bartow-Pell Mansion Museum and Gardens, Wildcliff, Van Cortlandt House Museum, and others, serving a growing audience of local New York residents from the surrounding Bronx neighborhoods and beyond. Their performance seasons are supported by workshops and talk-backs related to the plays they are exploring. This educational programming, open to everyone, is designed to offer audience members insight into the dramatic works they present, and the techniques used to bring them to the stage.
About the New Rochelle Council on the Arts
The New Rochelle Council on the Arts was founded in 1975; its mission is to encourage the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts, and for over 50 years NRCA has sponsored art exhibitions, theatrical productions, dance recitals, film screenings, lectures, spoken word events, concert series and public art. Find out more about NRCA at www.newrochellearts.org. The New Rochelle Council on the Arts is proud to be a grantee of ArtsWestchester with funding made possible by Westchester County government with the support of County Executive Ken Jenkins.
About Wildcliff
Wildcliff Mansion, also known as the Cyrus Lawton House, has a rich history dating back to 1852. It was designed by the renowned architect Alexander Jackson Davis in the Gothic Revival style, built on a hill with stunning views of Echo Bay. Unfortunately, on November 26, 2018, a fire destroyed the mansion. Following the fire, an advisory committee was formed to explore the future of the property. Ultimately, they decided to keep the mansion’s stone walls and make it safe. The insurance monies from the fire were used to stabilize the building and to create a community greenhouse called Hudson Park Children’s Greenhouse. Today, Wildcliff Mansion stands as an open ruin that has been stabilized and reimagined for event rentals, which can be explored through the New Rochelle Parks & Recreation department. The structure features an open-air design with modern amenities, including a catering kitchen and bathrooms, making it a unique venue for various events This program is funded, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. For tickets, directions, and additional details, please visit www.redmonkeytheater.org
About New Rochelle Council on the Arts
The New Rochelle Council on the Arts (NRCA) was created in 1975 by the New Rochelle City Council to stimulate and encourage the study and presentation of the performing and fine arts; in 2005 NRCA became a 501 ( C ) (3) organization. For more than 50 years NRCA has worked to fulfill its mission by sponsoring art exhibitions, public art, theatrical productions, dance recitals, film screenings, lectures, and concert series.