By Wendy Carson and John Lyle Belden

IndyShakes brings us the World Premiere of Lavina Jadhwani’s clever play, “Ado.” In what would be her last theatrical work before being taken by cancer in September, she sought to “fix” a logical flaw in William Shakespeare’s comedy, “Much Ado About Nothing.” How does a noble woman – named “Hero” no less – just accept trauma and go forth blindly with an absurd plan?

The action in “Ado” takes place during the offstage hours in Hero’s bedchambers after she was accused of infidelity and spurned by her beloved Claudio at what was to be their wedding. She fainted at the altar, leading to news that she has died from a broken heart.

Our play begins as Hero (Senaite Tekle) and her faithful servant Margaret (Kelli Malise) arrive in her room. She fumes not only about the slights to her character and virtue but also the fact that not a single person, even her father, spoke out in support of her.

The truth of how Margaret was tricked into aiding this betrayal is revealed. Then Hero’s cousin Beatrice (LaKesha Lorene) joins them, only to find that she was masterfully manipulated by the other women to fall for Benedick (a soldier whose return with Claudio from war sets off the plot of the greater Shakespeare work). Already known for her sharp tongue, Beatrice doesn’t take this well.

Hero and Beatrice’s beloved Auntie Ursula (Claire Wilcher) also shows up. Being both independent and traditional, she charmingly talks the others through their issues – hoping, despite the anger in the room, for a happy wedding in the morning. Thus, after much drink, an ersatz Bachelorette Party ensues. Decisions are made, including what to break in lieu of their hearts.

As a feminist examination of the way women in every era are treated and controlled, the setting has a current-day feel, complete with bits of today’s music. Modern syntax mixes in Shakepearean words and phrases to aid the timeless feel, making the events relatable without seeming anachronistic. By the time “epitaphs” are spun in a hip-hop style, it just adds to their cathartic fun.

Directed by Dawn Monique Williams, who was selected by Jadhwani, our cast add relatable depth to the archetypes the Bard assigned to them. Tekle presents Hero’s depth of feeling as strength rather than weakness, finding herself awakened from the fairy tale her life had been. Malise’s Margaret is sassy and unapologetically sexy, aware of her place in society while only feeling shame in her hurting a woman she loves.

Lorene takes Beatrice’s attitude and makes it less a shrew (as the source play implies) and more a fox. She will love Benedick on her own terms; now we can see exactly what those are. Wilcher gives her own sense of fun to a character given limited weight in the original work, but here taking on the role of catalyst, with the wisdom earned by her own life experience.

As the saying goes, the show must go on and that will be for your next viewing of “Much Ado…,” now with a perspective on the considerations behind the play’s happy-ending nuptials.

But even if this is all you see, it is well worth joining this little party with its own great comic moments, especially in their reactions to Claudio’s offstage attempt at repentance. In all, it is nice to see someone peek into the inner thoughts of these characters to reveal the drama not shown in Shakespeare’s script.

Attend “Ado,” playing through March 3 in the black box Basile stage of the Phoenix Theatre Cultural Centre, 705 N. Illinois St. in downtown Indianapolis. Get tickets at phoenixtheatre.org and information at indyshakes.com.