`Book of Will' pays tribute to The Bard and his friends

Lauren Gunderson's “The Book of Will” poignantly pays homage to the writings of William Shakespeare — and to the friends who refused to let The Bard's work fade into obscurity.

Oklahoma Shakespeare is staging the state premiere of “The Book of Will” through Aug. 31 in its intimate Paseo Arts District space.

The award-winning new show dramatizes the creation of “Mr. William Shakespeare's Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies,” now commonly called the First Folio. Gunderson pulls off the unlikely trick of melding contemporary plotting with dialogue and themes that feel true to the Victorian era. She also sprinkles in plenty of Easter eggs from various Shakespearean works that fans will relish.

“The Book of Will” takes place three years after The Bard's 1616 death, and his still-grieving closest friends and fellow actors, The King's Men, are aghast that shoddy rip-offs of his plays are being cranked out by shady printer William Jaggard (David Fletcher-Hall).

The players resolve to publish an official folio collection of Shakespeare's works, an endeavor complicated by their shortage of printing experience, money and complete versions of the plays, which Shakespeare wrote in pieces.

Shawn Churchman plays John Heminges, the practical actor-turned-manager who doesn't want to risk the company for a foolhardy book project, while Chris Rodgers portrays character actor Henry Condell, who passionately believes that assembling the folio is the only way to preserve Shakespeare's words and their own artistic legacies.

Tyler Woods voraciously chews scenery in the dual roles of Shakespeare's leading man Richard Burbage and his rival Ben Jonson. Renee Krapff does similar double duty as John's supportive spouse and The Bard's frail widow, and Aiesha Watley plays Henry's loving wife, Elizabeth, as well as Shakespeare's trailblazing fellow poet and shrewd mistress, Emilia Lanier. Kate Kemmet drives the story as John's literature-loving barmaid daughter, Alice, and fills the smaller role as Shakespeare's estranged daughter, Susannah.

Directed by Rex Daugherty, “The Book of Will” maintains Gunderson's signature breakneck pace. But it runs a full gamut of human emotions, including gratitude that Shakespeare's exquisite stories deathless live on in our time.

For information and tickets, go to www.oklahomashakespeare.com.