I had heard about the Arden Shakespeare Gild and the plays presented every summer in a small ampitheater outdoors next to The Green. When friends invited me to join them to see this outdoor version of "Much Ado About Nothing" it turned out to be a fun evening.
It had rained on opening night the day before, so we saw their first performance of the season, and it turned out to be: well cast, well rehearsed, and well-costumed. Beatrice and Benedict were well suited and played as the acid-tongued pair who turn out to be secretly in love with each other. Claudio and Hero are the sweet and loving couple who must endure the (faked) death of Hero and trickery of Don John before they can be joined in marriage by the Friar.
This unusual turn of the 20th century community was established as a get-away for artistic types in Philadelphia who wanted to spend the summers in quaint cottages (note the cottage peeking out behind the stage).enjoying the rustic life. Many of those cottages still exist, albeit in expanded form in many cases. Please search properties for sale in this historic community of Arden, Delaware.
