Deseret Book version of Much Ado About Nothing

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Benedick has just returned from a mission with some companions of his. They like to tell stories about their conquests—I mean converts. Beatrice, Benedick’s old critic, is there to remind him that she thinks as little of him as she did before he went on a mission. She’s too old to be real marriage material, but Benedick enjoys goading her on, and she clearly enjoys doing the same to him. Their friends Claudio and Hero are soon engaged to be married and they make a plan to try to get Beatrice and Benedick to realize they are perfect for each other.

Satan steps in and speaks to the audience, explaining that his purpose in life is to destroy true love wherever it exists because that creates families and families are the closest to heaven that anyone gets here on earth. Thus, he puts jealousy into the heart of Claudio when Hero is having an innocent lunch with a male friend of hers a few days before the wedding. Claudio is incensed when he sees Hero give the friend an innocent kiss on the cheek and he decides to humiliate Hero on their wedding day. He waits until they are in the temple and then, accuses Hero in front of everyone of being a flirt. He points his finger at the man in the temple who received her kiss and storms out, leaving Hero at the altar.

Benedick and Beatrice are so stunned at this that they start working together to help Hero, who tries to commit suicide at her humiliation. They take her to the hospital and make their own plan to make Claudio see his stupidity and cowardice. They set Claudio up with a married woman who is a friend of his and she weeps on his shoulder, then kisses him. They record everything, then show it to the woman’s husband, who accosts Claudio and tells him that he is a marriage wrecker. Claudio realizes his mistake and turns to Benedick and Beatrice to ask how he can make amends to Hero. But they tell him that Hero has better prospects in her life than him now.

Beatrice and Benedick admit their love for each other and run off to do a quickie temple marriage.


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