A play will be performed this weekend which has the following characters:

• A unethical journalist who befriends a disgrunted employee and seduces an industry insider to gain access to better stories
• A troll who, out of envy for what he perceives as undeserved fame and attention, slanders an innocent woman, who is then forced into hiding
• A group consisting entirely of men who believe the slander and amplify it
• A feminist who rails against the privileges and advantages of such men
• A completely incompetent law enforcement agency

A brand new play, pulled from today’s headlines? Nope, the play was written about 416 years ago by William Shakespeare. It’s called Much Ado About Nothing.

Encinal High School in Alameda, CA, is putting on the play this weekend. And maybe a hundred people or so will see it, since it’s a high school play, and the first performance will conflict with Game 4 of the World Series, with a Bay Area team playing.

Which is a shame, because the things these kids (including two of mine) have done to pull the current relevance out of a 400-year-old play is remarkable. And that Shakespeare wrote a play 400 years ago that drips with relevance to today’s headlines is equally remarkable. It deserves to be seen by more people than that.

So if you’re an A’s fan looking to escape the Giants’ clutches on our attention this week, or if you have a few spare hours Sunday afternoon before Game 5, please come out and see Much Ado About Nothing at Encinal High School. You’ll enjoy it.

Details:

Much Ado About Nothing
Encinal High School cafeteria
Alameda, CA
Saturday, October 25, 7pm
Sunday, October 26, 2pm
Adults $10, Students $5
Running time: about 90 minutes