By Kathryn Olsen
At Cedar City‘s Engelstad Shakespeare Theatre, a relatively-new play is inviting all fans of Utah Shakespeare Festival into life after the Bard in The Book of Will. This 2018 play by Lauren Gunderson follows the efforts of William Shakespeare‘s friends to preserve the works of their Bard before the classic plays become lost to history. As it is barely a year old, this play is new to the Festival and certainly unknown to most of the audience, but even those who know the history of it will enjoy the drama. I consider it to be for the complete works of William Shakespeare what the musical 1776 is to the Declaration of Independence—the ending is known, but it does not make the story any less riveting.
As the play opens, Boy Hamlet (Isabella Giordano) is declaiming Hamlet’s famous soliloquy, but while he gets “to be or not to be” word-perfect, it soon becomes evident that his script was not exactly true to the original texts. At a local alehouse, the King’s Men bemoan the fact that thanks to scribes who would scribble down the plays while in the audience, hacks on stages all over London are able to play Shakespeare without having to pay the right fees to people who hold the rights. This conversation quickly turns into a recollection of favorite lines, with Richard Burbage (Todd Dennings) capping the event with a speech compiled of beloved lines ranging from Henry V to Hamlet. These friends and colleagues soon realize that while these plays will live forever in their memories, there are very few authentic copies of what William himself wrote for the stage. They echo Hamlet’s thought with the motto of “Publish or vanish. That’s the choice.” The remaining misadventures and near-catastrophes of the story lead to the publication of the First Folio, in which all of Shakespeare’s plays were compiled for the first time.
The principal players in this sometimes-farcical drama are two actors who are committed heart and soul to their friends’ legacy and two publishers who have less-honorable reasons for wanting to make their marks on the theatrical world. Chris Mixon plays John Heminges with the soul of someone who truly loaned his heart to every Shakespearean character he undertook. He is the protagonist with fewer moments of outright hilarity, but still walks a wonderfully fine line between solemnity and sardonic humor.
Henry Condell (Rene Thornton Jr.), conversely, is responsible for more of the light-hearted moment. In Mixon’s role, the audience can imagine some of the great tragedies he would have been cast in, while Thornton Jr. might have been perfectly suited for roles such as Bottom, Ariel, or even Mercutio. He carries the longest-running joke of the show without being absurd and is the life and soul of several scenes.
Russ Benton and Josh Jeffers must be considered together, as they play father and son rival publishers William and Isaac Jaggard. They are almost comically sinister at times, but their subplot regarding legacy allows both to reveal a healthy respect for each other. Jeffers shines as the redeeming member of the family, while Benton subtly plays a heroic role of his own.
Todd Denning plays his brief role as Burbage with appropriate grandiosity, but his more lasting impact is in his bawdy and vain role as Poet Laureate Ben Jonson. This pair of roles, which expects him to be flawlessly articulate at some times and hilariously inebriated at others, must be a challenge for any actor and Denning is unmistakably outstanding.
The less principal roles are even more of a challenge. The family members of the famous actors (Sarah Hollis, Betsy Mugavero, Katie Cunningham) are constantly displaying a devotion to Shakespeare’s works that rivals their husbands’ or father’s, and standing stalwartly beside men who are undertaking a seemingly impossible task. The scenes in which they appear are never lacking humor and patient compassion, even when that compassion must take the form of a stiff drink. They all have several roles to play, whether as a fruit vendor, Shakespeare’s daughter, or even the Dark Lady.
The most underappreciated contributor to the work is certainly Southern Utah University student Isabella Giordano, who seems to be forever the object of ridicule or impatience as she portrays various roles from the town crier who announces the week’s plays to the hack attempting to play Hamlet at the beginning.
Director Melinda Pfundstein has created an experience that is fast-paced, yet deeply moving, as befits any Shakespeare-themed play. Scenic Designer Apollo Mark Weaver‘s set is versatile and often dazzlingly elaborate, but appropriate to post-Elizabethan England and the lighting design by Michael Pasquini is always tone-appropriate; both of these artists are the creative minds behind the production of Macbeth that plays on the same stage. The efforts of Fight Director Benjamin Reigel are always effective in carrying the action. Movement Director Megan Brunswold Mercedes must be commended for work that makes several scenes take on the effect of a well-choreographed ballet. Music Director Brandon Scott Grayson and Sound Designer/Original Music Composer Lindsay Joens likewise allow the audience to feel as if they’re experiencing all the sights and sounds of the Globe Theater. Costume Designer David Kay Mickelsen sets each scene with distinctions between stage costumes and ordinary dress and creates a caste system within the cast.
The works of Shakespeare will never be lost to time, but this show is only being performed until September 5, so run to get tickets before this marvelous adventure moves on. Crude language renders it unsuitable for some audiences.
Utah Shakespeare Festival Presents The Book of Will; by Lauren Gunderson
Engelstad
Shakespeare Theater 200 Shakespeare Ln, Cedar City, UT 84720
Jun
28-Sep 5, 2019 8:00 PM
Tickets: $20-77
Contact: 800-752-9849
www.bard.org
Utah Shakespeare Festival Facebook Page
The Book of Will Facebook Event
0 Comments