Arts and Performance
William Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing
May 5, 2025 at 7:00pm – 9:00pm EDT
Community Folk Art Center

This spring, the students of Syracuse University’s ENG 411: Doing Shakespeare course present a staged reading of Much Ado About Nothing, reimagined with a 1920s setting. Against a backdrop of jazz-era elegance and understated glamour, Shakespeare’s beloved comedy unfolds with its sharp wit, mistaken identities and enduring themes of love, deception and social performance.
The minimalist, text-focused approach invites audiences to experience the richness of Shakespeare’s language while enjoying subtle nods to the culture and style of the Roaring Twenties. The production explores how this period of shifting gender roles and sparkling facades echoes the play’s playful tensions and emotional undercurrents.
Free and open to the public, this one-night-only performance highlights the timelessness of Shakespeare’s storytelling—refreshed with a touch of vintage charm.
This event was published on April 28, 2025.
Event Details
- Category
- Arts and Performance
- Type
- Performances
- Region
- Greater Syracuse
- Open to
- Public
- Cost
- Free
- Organizers
- CAS-Department of English,
- Humanities Center
- Contact
- Stephanie Shirilan
shirilan@syr.edu
- Accessibility
- Contact Stephanie Shirilan to request accommodations