FLASHBACK: Much Ado About Nothing 1973

1 In 1973, twenty million people saw the broadcast of this CBS-TV production of "Much Ado About Nothing," Shakespeare’s classic tale of romance, mistaken identity, and the battle of the sexes. Though this turn-of-the-century version has Roosevelt’s Rough-Riders and bicycle riding suffragettes, the story is the same: Beatrice and Benedick fight their merry war of words; the evil Don Juan conspires to disrupt the wedding of Hero and Claudio; and it’s up to Dogbery to save the day. Critically acclaimed and loved by audiences, this rollicking comedy is brassy, bouncy and all-together entertaining. First presented at the New York Shakespeare Festival, this production later became the first truly successful Shakespeare play in Broadway history that did not boast a major star. It features Sam Waterston, Kathleen Widdoes, Douglass Watson and Barnard Hughes. Soap fans will recognize Widdoes as the long-running Emma Snyder on AS THE WORLD TURNS. Before joining ATWT, she played Una on RYAN'S HOPE. She began her soap career as ANOTHER WORLD's Rose Perrini, the mother of Ray Liotta's character, Joey. On AW, Widdoes worked with the late, great Douglass Watson. Yes, despite only one "s" on the DVD cover (he used both spellings throughout his career), this is the same actor who played the beloved Mac Cory on ANOTHER WORLD for many years. Watson appeared in a number of soaps before his AW run. He was Lloyd on LOVE OF LIFE, Walter on SEARCH FOR TOMORROW and played the lead character, Robert, on CBC's MOMENT OF TRUTH. If you want to watch two soap legends in actions, go check out this wonderful DVD.