Off Broadway Review: ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ at Shakespeare in the Park

All those giddy young lovers in Shakespeare’s pastoral comedies have a regrettable tendency to blur into one another. Except, of course, for Beatrice and Benedick, that quick-witted, quarrelsome pair in Much Ado About Nothing. Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater, favorites with Gotham auds, would seem ideally cast (by helmer Jack O’Brien) as those squabbling lovers, in the summer’s first Public Theater production of Shakespeare in the Park. Strange to say, this perfect romance begins on an awkward note, not really clicking until deep into the second act — just in time to restore our faith in these enchanting lovers. It’s tempting to credit this restorative power to a creative team with the singular expertise it takes to turn an outdoor stage into a magical place.