New Canon Theatre Co. is back with another sassy take on Shakespeare, this time with Much Ado About Nothing.

After productions of Macbeth, Henry V and The Taming of the Shrew, New Canon, a nonprofit theater company formed in 2022, is returning to the stage with its second season. Much Ado About Nothing begins on June 8.

In the play, which takes place in 16th-century Sicily, William Shakespeare mentions a big war. So the New Canon crew (the play is directed by actor and multi-hyphenate theater person Noah Lucé) resolved to set their interpretation in the U.S. at the end of World War II – an iconic American setting.

“The big war ended and the men are returning home,” Lucé says, adding that the setting for his Much Ado is inspired by The Hollywood Canteen, a Los Angeles club that used to offer food, dancing and entertainment for servicemen. The place was owned by Bette Davis, who would pour coffee for the soldiers herself.

In addition to the more modern setting, Lucé plays with the gender of some characters. “In our version, I’ve taken two classically male roles and aged them down and flipped their gender to be women,” he explains.

The rest of the intrigue is left as it was in the original: We have a genuine love between Hero (Abi Coomes) and Claudio (Joe Ayers) and the young people’s happiness stirs others to use love as a tool to get what they want. Gossip leads to jealousy, traps are set to deceive, trust is broken. The story is one of love and deceit, and the pain of miscommunication. The message? Love is not something to mess with.

The characters Beatrice (Shannon Lee Clair), Antonia (Autumn Tustin) and Leonata (Malinda DeRouen) are based on the real-life Andrews Sisters, a trio from the swing/boogie-woogie era, so expect a lot of singing (tunes include “Don’t Sit Under The Apple Tree” and “In the Mood”; the ending song is a secret). Shannon Lee Clair is a forceful Beatrice, one of the strongest of Shakespeare’s female characters. New Canon Artistic Director Justin Gordon plays her Benedick.

As with New Canon’s tavern-style Henry V (staged at Pearl Hour) and Taming of the Shrew (Other Brother Beer Co.), Blue Fox Cellars has no “stage” in the strict sense of the word. Instead, the actors work in and among the audience.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING 7pm Thursday-Saturday, 5pm Sunday from June 8-June 24. Blue Fox Cellars, 25 Pilot Road, Carmel Valley. $15-$45. newcanontheatre.org.