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Production history
<ref> [[Great Books: Shakespeare, Vol. 1]], by William George Clarke and William Aldis Wright, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 1952, pp. 503-531. </ref>
<ref> [[Great Books: Shakespeare, Vol. 1]], by William George Clarke and William Aldis Wright, Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 1952, pp. 503-531. </ref>
==Film Adaptations==
==Production history==
''Much Ado'' was first published in 1600, and the original Quarto text says that it had already been performed publicly before the publication. It is not known how many times the play was revived before its second printing in the First Folio of 1623. A tribute poem to Shakespeare in 1640 mentions that the play was popular at that time. In the 16 and 1700s, a number of playwrights combined scenes and pieces of ''Much Ado'' with other plays to create purportedly new works. The most notable production during the 18th century was David Garrick's at Drury Lane in 1748.
The 19th century saw increasing focus on the spectacular scenes hinted at in the text. Leonato's villa and the cathedral where the weddings take place were visualized as particularly lavish sets by directors of this era. The [[Victorian]] era saw some alterations to the text in fitting with the [[conservative]] spirit of the time. Many of the overtly sexual jokes, especially those about [[infidelity]], were not included in the productions, notably the most famous production in the 19th century, directed by and starring [[Henry Irving]] opposite [[Ellen Terry]], two of the greatest British actors of the age.
In the 20th century, the sexual jokes were again included as the theatrical world took a more [[liberal]] slant. In addition, directors after 1900 began to experiment with and alter the traditional visualization of the play. Versions were staged that set ''Much Ado'' in such places as [[Mexico]] or [[India]]. The first televised production in 1971 set the entire play in the [[Teddy Roosevelt]]-era [[United States]]. It was estimated that more people saw the 1971 production on TV than had seen all previous stage performances combined.
Although it is less adapted than most plays, [[Kenneth Branagh]] chose it as his second film adaptation of Shakespeare in 1993. He stars as Benedick opposite Emma Thompson as Beatrice. It co-starred Robert Sean Leonard as Claudio, Kate Beckingsdale as Hero, [[Denzel Washington]] as Don Pedro and Keanu Reaves as Don John. It also included [[Michael Keaton]] as Dogberry.
Although it is less adapted than most plays, [[Kenneth Branagh]] chose it as his second film adaptation of Shakespeare in 1993. He stars as Benedick opposite Emma Thompson as Beatrice. It co-starred Robert Sean Leonard as Claudio, Kate Beckingsdale as Hero, [[Denzel Washington]] as Don Pedro and Keanu Reaves as Don John. It also included [[Michael Keaton]] as Dogberry.