Short answers, pulled from the story.
William Shakespeare wrote Much Ado About Nothing during the years 1598 and 1599. The play first appeared in print when stationers Andrew Wise and William Aspley published a quarto edition in 1600.
Historical records show two specific court performances took place during the winter of 1612-13 while celebrating the marriage of Princess Elizabeth to Frederick V of the Palatinate on the 14th of February 1613.
A. J. Antoon's 1972 Broadway production starring Sam Waterston became the longest-running version on record. Derek Jacobi won a Tony Award for playing Benedick in 1984 after appearing in the Royal Shakespeare Company's highly praised 1982 production with Sinéad Cusack.
Kenneth Branagh released the first sound version in English to cinemas in 1993, starring himself as Benedick and Emma Thompson as Beatrice. Keanu Reeves appeared as Don John while Michael Keaton played Dogberry in that same production.
Nothing and noting functioned as near-homophones during Shakespeare's day according to Stephen Greenblatt's introduction to The Norton Shakespeare edition. Taken literally, the title implies making great fuss over something insignificant like unfounded claims of infidelity or love declarations.