After its inaugural production of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” proved to be a hit last July, Shakespeare in Prescott Park is returning for a second season. Without further ado, the Seacoast theater company will present “Much Ado About Nothing” beginning on Sunday, July 22, at Prescott Park in Portsmouth.

“I hope that it’s something that happens every year,” company producer and founder Christine Penney said of the Prescott Park Arts Festival event. “It makes for a very robust, wide variety of programming for the community.”

Driven by her love for Shakespeare, Penney teamed up with some friends and colleagues involved in the Prescott Park Arts Festival to stage “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on a handful of dates last summer, and it was performed for more than 800 people. Because last year’s selection was a comedy, Penney chose to produce “Much Ado” this season due to its more serious but still comical plotline.

“I would say the play has bookends of comedy with a little bit of tragedy in the middle,” Penney said. “I would love to do a tragedy, but I want to see the audience’s reaction (to “Much Ado”) to see if it’s a good fit.”

“Much Ado About Nothing” tells the story of two couples and their tumultuous relationships with each other and their families, complete with all the ironies and twisting plotlines characteristic of Shakespeare’s work. The protagonist versus antagonist concept is incorporated into the story, but the play’s most prominent emphasis is on togetherness, Penney said.

“At the heart of the show, it’s the story about a family and what you would do for your family,” Penney said. “All of these characters have a connectedness, and each decision influences someone else’s.”

A challenge that often accompanies Shakespearean productions is the Old English-style language of the scripts. But Penney said she is confident the audience will understand what’s going on.

“As long as the actors know what they’re saying, and know what they’re doing and what they want, the audience will, too,” she said.

Director Dan Beaulieu agreed, saying the script will come alive through the actors’ emotions as they “unpack and unlock” the language on stage. The cast includes Penney as Beatrice, CJ Lewis as Benedick, Tim Jacobs as Claudio, Elise Toscano as Hero, Robin Fowler as Dogberry, and Calvin Marcellus Braxton as Don John.

Beaulieu said the real creative struggle lies in presenting a show that viewers can relate to.

“One major challenge is getting the audience to believe that they will come and enjoy it,” the University of New Hampshire graduate said. “It’s taking a story that’s 300 years old and making it relevant to today.”

To achieve that modernity, Beaulieu chose to highlight and expand on some of the play’s themes, including family, scandal and love.

“These are all modern things,” he said. “It’s stuff that we all experience on a daily basis.”

Another challenge is adapting the set to fit Prescott Park’s summer-long production of “Willy Wonka” so that it works for Shakespeare, too.

“We perform on whatever set is built for the musical,” Penney said. “You can try to fight against it, or embrace it and make it a part of the (Shakespeare) world.”

According to Beaulieu, the setting of the play is “stylistically unspecific,” which allows the story to fit a modern mold. After toying with concepts, Beaulieu decided to have the play set in a vintage clothing store—located in an abandoned chocolate factory—and explore another of the play’s themes: fashion. The set features mannequins, a clothing rack and tables that accentuate the atmosphere.

“Walking into it, (Prescott Park set designers) have given us a lot to play with,” Beaulieu said. “It’s a playground. There are so many different places for characters to pop up.”

To complement the fashion element, Shakespeare in Prescott Park is inviting audience members to bring old, clean and wearable clothing items to donate to the non-profit Full Circle Community Thrift Store in Eliot, Maine. The retail shop gives its proceeds to families and individuals with cancer. Clothing will be collected before each performance and used in the show as part of the set.

Full Circle will also act as a symbol for community and connectivity, two ideals exhibited in the play. Circles—familial, professional and communal—are a driving literal and metaphorical force in the production, and both Beaulieu and Penney have looked to incorporate circular themes or references into the show.

“I’ve encouraged the actors to find circles wherever possible,” Beaulieu said. “The story of the play is all these (character) circles coming together to form one big circle. I’m not sure how much it will translate, but just knowing it’s there provides a structure for the actors to work inside of.”

As for the future of Shakespeare in Prescott Park, Beaulieu said he believes it will continue to gain exposure.

“In so many ways, Shakespeare’s work is written for environments like Prescott Park,” he said. “All good Shakespeare in the Park programs start small and grow, and I think we’re at the start of something that’s going to grow big, or at least I hope so.”

“Much Ado about Nothing” takes place on Sunday, July 22 at 2 p.m.; Saturday, July 28 at 2 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 12 at 2 p.m.; Sunday, Aug. 19 at 2 p.m.; and Saturday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m. All shows are at Prescott Park on Marcy Street in Portsmouth. For more information, visit www.prescottpark.org