The Book of Will is Both Funny and Moving From Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater

The Book of Will is a play by Lauren Gunderson, co-author of the much-beloved Christmas at Pemberley Trilogy of which I have gushed on more than one occasion. The play tells the true story, though through a fictional lens, of the men and women, chiefly, Henry Condell and John Heminges, who worked alongside Shakespeare, who ensured that William Shakespeare’s work survived after his death. The play opens With Condell and Heminges in The Globe Tap House with the actor Richard Burbage. The three friends of Shakespeare’s, actors in his theater company, discuss the poor quality of the pirated versions of Shakespeare’s plays that were being performed by younger actors after his death. Burbage dies the next day. Condell and Heminges realize that with Burbage, who had the plays memorized, gone, they no longer have copies of most of his plays. They make it their mission to track down the plays and through their efforts we learn a lot about the theater practices of the period. The play is both funny and emotionally poignant as it explores the importance of story and theater in the lives of its characters and society at large. It is a theme I am completely in sync with.

The cast is incredibly talented, including favorites like Nissa Nordland, who plays Heminges’ daughter, providing brief moments of the sort of romantic spark with Carter Graham’s Isaac Jaggard, that we have come to expect from Gunderson. Though unconsummated, Graham and Nordland generate the kind of instant chemistry that made me wish the play was ten minutes longer to devote to developing that spark. Kjer Whiting, whose Ben Jonson was Shakespeare’s rival, but here clearly a friend as well, plays it so that we can clearly see that duality. The always interesting Jeremy Motz gives a rapid-fire mashup of Shakespearian dialogue in a scene where he confronts one of the younger actors he sees as ruining Shakespeare’s works. It’s a moment that sets the bar high for the night. Sean Dillon as Condell is passionate, refusing to give up on the project. His best moments come in his portrayal of the friendship between Condell and Heminges, with the ability to convey heartfelt compassion, and with decency always being chief among Dillon’s strengths an actor and a person.

This brings us to Andrew Troth, who plays Heminges. Troth is absolutely heartbreaking as a bereaved Heminges trying to make sense of the world after his wife passes away. I’ve always enjoyed Troth’s performances, but here he surpassed mere enjoyment and left me impressed with his emotionally raw performance.

Gunderson’s script plays well to general audiences, but for those of us with a familiarity with much of Shakespeare’s canon, it’s filled with Easter eggs that reflect the author’s love of the plays. It’s easy to be amazed at the lack of foresight the people of Shakespeare’s time had in the importance of preserving the plays. He was one of the most popular playwrights of his time, and yet three years after his death, his acting company had but a handful of his scripts. It’s easy to scoff at the short-sightedness of those in the arts of the time and think we would never be such poor custodians of our cultural and artistic heritage. Then we remember that three hundred years later, the motion picture industry was making the same mistake, leaving us a world where 75% of all silent films are lost. Is the lost Lon Chaney film London After Midnight as important an artistic achievement as Shakespeare’s lost Love’s Labour’s Won? Who is to say? Rubble&Ash provides the wonderful period costumes, which are always one of the joys of a play set in this time. But my favorite visual element of the show was the set design by MJ Leffler. I ran into Leffler before the show, when we discussed the design. Leffler informed me that the design was made up 100% of recycled and repurposed pieces. There is a giant feather standing like a pillar along the back wall that rang a distant bell for me. It turns out the feather was part of the Guthrie’s Cyrano de Bergerac from 2019. It makes the perfect accent to this play about the greatest English language writer of all time.The Book of Will is a treat for any fans of Shakespeare, to be sure. But understanding Shakespeare or even appreciating him isn’t necessary going into the show. It’s a fascinating look at the idea of legacy and the importance of preservation. The play runs through October 11th at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis. For more information and to purchase tickets go to  https://www.theatreprorata.org/production-history/book-of-will.

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