By Joe Siegel

Burbage Theatre Company is opening their 15th season on September 17 with Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Much Ado About Nothing,” directed by Trinity Repertory’s Stephen Thorne.

Leading the ensemble of 16 are Burbage Theatre Co. artist Alison Russo as Beatrice and Burbage Theatre Co founding Artistic Director Jeff Church as Benedick.

Russo and Church have plenty of experience with Shakespeare. Russo starred in last spring’s “Measure for Measure” and Church starred as Hamlet at the Gamm Theatre in 2025. Church was a 2025 New England Theater award nominee for Best Actor* – Drama.

“We’ve been trying to produce Much Ado at Burbage for some years now,” Church noted. “We got close last year, but some shuffling put Measure for Measure on our stage instead. But, finally,
Shakespeare’s great comedy comes to the Burbage stage with one of the strongest creative teams we’ve ever assembled. Much Ado About Nothing is in the company of Twelfth Night and As You Like It as one of Shakespeare’s comedic masterworks. It brims with love, and is rife with wit – sharp, scathing, intelligent, but also preposterously silly. Frivolity and nihilism exist as two sides of the same coin that is the play’s title.”

The cast also includes seasoned veterans Nancy Winokoor, David Sackal, Julia Curtin (2025 New England Theater award winner for Best Actress* – Drama), Tylar Jahumpa, Omar Laguerre-Lewis, and Andrew Stigler.

Performances run through October 11. Preview performances on September 17 and 18. September 19 is Opening Night/Pay What You Will. Burbage Theatre Co., 59 Blackstone Avenue. Pawtucket, RI. For tickets, visit burbagetheatre.org.

Alison Russo in Measure for Measure.