Casey Murphy (Ben) and Veronika Duerr (Beatrice) in Lady Disdain. Provided photo.

Beatrice and Benedict have an issue. The two actors, who do audio book recordings to make ends meet, used to date. Now on the outs, Beatrice and Benedict are both hired to record a fantasy romance book—all unbeknownst to each other. Beatrice and Benedict are not real—they are the two leading characters of Lauren Gunderson’s Lady Disdain, making its rolling world premiere at Asolo Repertory Theatre June 6—but the inspiration for the sticky situation comes from a very real place.

Gunderson, one of the most prolific and celebrated American playwrights of the 21st century, wrote Lady Disdain as a modern take on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing. A veteran of the theater industry, Gunderson was drawn to the dichotomy so often seen in her friends and colleagues—classically trained actors dramatically reading sappy and sultry dialogue in audiobooks.

“I love this genre, it’s become insanely popular and the fervor around these books is just wonderful,” says Gunderson. “It occurred to me how funny it is for these actors to code switch—a lot of these actors are Shakespearean-trained to do the greatest roles in the English language—and then they have to read these audio books where they read all of these spicy scenes. How do you do that without breaking character or giggling?”

That tension, Gunderson attests, is a comedic one. “We’re expecting and we get another, but it’s also a way to unpack the vulnerability of the profession of acting, of this genre of book and what they allow people to experience and open up to,” she says. “Lady Disdain is a way to talk about the books, but also this profession of holding a character close to yourself as actors do.”

Gunderson also wanted to use the play to dissect the modern notions of a romantic comedy. The emotional arcs within Much Ado About Nothing—her favorite work of Shakespeare's—maintain their integrity in the 21st century. “What I get to do with this play is talk about the mythology of romance, love and marriage,” says Gunderson. “Humans today are not as different as they were 500 years ago when it comes to matters of the heart.”

Lady Disdain, June 6-27, Asolo Repertory Theatre, 5555 N Tamiami Trail, Sarasota.

Casey Murphy (Ben) and Veronika Duerr (Beatrice) in Lady Disdain. Provided photo.

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