Theatre Arts
The Book of Will
Imagine a world without Macbeth, The Tempest, Twelfth Night, Taming of the Shrew or Julius Caesar. Before the publishing of Shakespeares anthologized plays in Folio format in 1623, these plays and many others had never appeared in print. Once the actors who originated these roles and then anyone who remembered seeing them had died, they risked being completely forgotten.
Directed by Bruce McLeod
November 4-21
Lohman Theatre
Performances
Friday, November 5th - 8pm, Preview performance
Saturday, November 6th - 8pm, Opening night!
Thursdays, November 11th & 18th at 7:30 pm
Fridays, November 12th & 19th at 8:00 pm
Saturdays, November 13th & 20th at 8:00 pm
Sundays, November 14th & 21st at 2:00 pm
Cast
| Henry Condell | Mike Rhone |
| John Heminges | Tony Silk |
| Rebecca Heminges | Carla Befera |
| Elizabeth Condell | Eiko Yamamoto |
| Anne Hathaway | Gwendolynne Wagner |
| Lady Emilia Lanier | Sara Dean |
|
Edward Burbage, William Jaggard |
John Musgrave |
| Alice Heminge | Lauren D'Ambrosio |
| Isaac Jaggard | Steve Allhoff |
| Ben Johnson | Jason Morley |
|
Hamlet, Marcus, Ensemble 1 |
Olivia Spreen |
| Compositor, Ensemble 2 | Giovanni Garcia |
| Susannah, Ensemble 3 | Sydney Harmon |
| Burbage, Jaggard understudy | Leslie Newport |
Following the death of iconic actor Richard Burbage, and still reeling from Shakespeares death three years earlier, the surviving senior members of the Kings Men acting company realize that without a herculean effort to amass the various scraps of surviving manuscripts, sides and prompt books, the works of Shakespeare could be lost to time entirely except for the unauthorized and inferior printings of a handful of his plays. The story of this compilation is brought to life. in Lauren Gundersons vibrant play, The Book of Will.
-John Geoffrion, DC Theatre Scene, 2017
[Gunderson] has peopled the stage with lively, historically based characters吁he paints a vivid portrait of the times in language sometimes formal, sometimes poetic and often圭ontemporary吁he also gives a real feel for theater life and what it means to be an actor; you sense this is a work of both scholarship and love吆THE BOOK OF WILL] serves as homage to those who sacrificed to make the first folio happen and to Shakespeares magnificent words. Westword (Denver, CO).
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Lohman Theatre, Area 8
Main Campus