William Shakespeare never published his plays.
It wasn’t until three years after his death in 1616 that a few of the members of his King’s Men troupe realized what would be lost to the world if they didn’t scramble and try to accurately piece together the Bard’s works.
Whew. That not only leaves a legacy to brilliance, it also gave birth to the very funny “The Book of Will,” now on stage at Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre.
The Lauren Gunderson play begins in a London tavern as a trio of men, all of whom were players in Shakespeare’s company, bemoan the fact that his plays have never been published. Worse, while they are still performed, the words were never accurate.
When one of those men, Richard Burbage, who played the lead in most of Shakespeare’s plays and had a keen memory for the exact words spoken from the stage, died, John Heminges and Henry Condell stepped in to make sure the text was right. And then print the plays.
The former King’s Men launch a hunt for scraps of print, random pages and notes from the author and other actors. From those, and with help from others, Shakespeare’s First Folio was printed in 1623.
All that is true, as are many of the other characters in the play.
Gunderson calls the folio project a metaphor for “loss and memory.” And those two are paramount in this often funny, and just as often heartbreaking, play.
Dennis O’Dell and Nathan Taylor, who played John Heminges and Henry Condell respectively, are the driving force and heart of the story. The two capture the intense friendship and love they had for each other and the plays, and we could feel the feverish energy as they attempted what was a seemingly impossible task.
John Keeney was both Burbage and the poet Ben Johnson, giving each a distinct arrogance that upped the laughs and the intensity.
Also impressive were Elizabeth Falcón as Alice Heminges, John’s attentive daughter; his wife Rebecca was given a warmth and depth by Molly Lyons, and Dawn McMillan was an impressive hoot as Henry’s wife, Elizabeth.
Bryan Rafael Falcón directed the sometimes-farcical, always-tender play with a gentle, and expert, hand.
Most plays with Gunderson’s name attached are worth seeing, and this solid production makes it especially so.
“The Book of Will” continues through March 17 at the Scoundrel and Scamp Theatre, 738 N. Fifth Ave., in the Historic Y. Tickets are $30 in advance, $35 at the door at 520-448-3300 or scoundrelandscamp.org.
The show runs about two hours, with one intermission.
