Experienced Talent Brimming in "The Book of Will" at Taproot Theatre

Nolan Palmer and Melanie Godsey in The Book of Will (John Ulman)

The Book of Will
Taproot Theatre
Through February 24, 2024
 
This production of prolific playwright Lauren Gunderson is rambunctiously performed by a mostly-veteran ensemble of wonderful actors. It’s such a joy to see/hear them chew into the script, especially Nolan Palmer, as he skillfully overacts, as Richard Burbage, Shakespeare’s soliloquys while wanting to murder the young, ridiculous thespians who mangle and change Shakespeare’s words – because Shakespeare’s plays have not yet been codified in print.
 
The play surmises that after Shakespeare’s death, no one has thought to collect all of his plays and make sure they are properly saved for future audiences. In 1619, a few years after Shakespeare’s death, dumbed-down versions of his plays are proliferating, with actors guessing at what the script would be! Determined to fix this are the fabled actor Richard Burbage (Nolan Palmer), who played dozens of the great roles, John Heminges (Eric Jensen),the business manager of Shakespeare’s acting company, The King’s Men, Henry Condell (Reginald André Jackson), an actor and co-owner of the Globe. They are aided by wives and daughter (Llysa Holland, Nikki Visel, and Melanie Godsey).
 
Palmer doubles as William Jaggard, a swindler in the publishing game who has often been accused of plagiarism, and somehow has spawned a son, Isaac (Christopher Clark), who swears he will help bring authenticity and trust to publishing the Folio. The rest of the wonderful ensemble include Ben Johnson (Nik Doner), the other great playwright of the era, and Ralph Crane (Andrew Litzky), a meticulous scribe of the “acting” scripts of Shakespeare who wrote down and kept many crucial scripts for himself (thankfully), and William Eames, who plays several small but important roles.

Reginald Andre Jackson and Eric Jensen (John Ulman)

It's a pleasure to watch them play. They all, seamlessly, change characters without missing a beat. Director Karen Lund, smartly and adeptly as usual, keeps the pacing on track and works with the tiny stage meticulous crafted by Mark Lund, as locations shift quickly and ingeniously. Costuming by Nanette Acosta is beautifully period, as usual.
 
No one really knows what happened to bring about the First Folio, nor do people actually all agree that Shakespeare was only one person! So, Gunderson is free to dream and imagine and does so credibly and with great humor. Do yourself a favor and visit Taproot to lean into Gunderson’s imagination, and leave thankful that Shakespeare – whoever he was – was somehow saved for posterity!
 
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