December 29, 2025

Much Ado About Nothing - Episode 4 - We've Caught Our Fish

32 minutes

***This show is brought to you by Quince. Go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠http://quince.com/playonpod ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠for free shipping on your order and 365-day returns.***

Benedick and Beatrice are teased mercilessly by their friends for the sudden changes they notice in their behavior. Don John plants the seed of Hero’s disloyalty in the ears of Don Pedro and Claudio, who vows to shame her at the altar if it’s proven true. Chief Constable Dogberry preps his Deputy Verges and officers Oatcake and Seacoal for the watch that night, telling them to pay close attention to Leonato’s villa in advance of the wedding that’s going to be there. The officers fall asleep on their watch but are awakened by rain just in time to overhear Borachio boast to Conrade that he made a bunch of money by getting Margaret to pretend she was Hero as he made love to her, within earshot of Claudio. The inept officers manage to arrest them both. The next morning, Margaret reassures an uneasy Hero as she prepares for her wedding. Dogberry and Verges bumble their way into delivering news of Borachio’s arrest to a distracted Leonato, who tells them to handle it themselves. The wedding begins…

The PLAY ON PODCAST SERIES, “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING”, was written by WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE and translated into modern English verse by RANJIT BOLT. All episodes were directed by BRENDON FOX. Radio play by CATHERINE EATON.

Executive Producer: MICHAEL GOODFRIEND

This podcast was recorded under a SAG-AFTRA AGREEMENT.

The cast is as follows:

TRACIE LANE as BEATRICE

REG ROGERS as BENEDICK

TÉA GUARINO as HERO

ZION JANG as CLAUDIO

CARMAN MATTHEW LACIVITA as DON PEDRO

ALEJANDRA ESCALANTE as MARGARET and CONRADE

DEMOSTHENES CHRYSAN as LEONATO

DEE NELSON as ANTONIA

BRIAN OWEN as DOGBERRY

STEPHEN MICHAEL SPENCER as BORACHIO

EVAN ZES as NAVAL CADET, OATCAKE and SEACOAL

LUIS MORENO as DON JOHN and THE SEXTON

MARY BACON as DEACON FRANCIS and VERGES

Casting by THE TELSEY OFFICE: KARYN CASL, CSA.

Voice and Text Coach: JULIE FOH

Original music composition, Mix and Sound Design by LINDSAY JONES. Vocal arrangement and music direction by STEPHEN MICHAEL SPENCER. Sound engineering and mixing by SADAHARU YAGI. Mix Engineer and Dialogue Editor: LARRY WALSH. Podcast Mastering by GREG CORTEZ at New Monkey Studio. Coordinating Producer: TRANSCEND STREAMING (KYRA BOWIE and LEANNA KEYES).

The Play On Podcast Series “MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING” is produced by NEXT CHAPTER PODCASTS and is made possible by the generous support of THE HITZ FOUNDATION. Visit ⁠NEXTCHAPTERPODCASTS.COM⁠ for more about the Play On Podcast Series. Visit ⁠PLAYONSHAKESPEARE.ORG⁠ for more about Play On Shakespeare.

Subscribe to Play On Premium for ad-free episodes and join our Patreon for exclusive merchandise and early commercial-free releases. Go to nextchapterpodcasts.com for our Bonus Content, where you’ll find interviews with the artists, producers and engineers who brought it all to life. And remember: “The world must be peopled!”

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