“The Book of Will” reviewed by Mark Reinecke

**** As one of the top-produced playwrights in the country for the last 10 years, Lauren Gunderson strikes again with a heartfelt, touching, and funny tale of love, loss, and determination staged by the Promethean Theatre Ensemble at The Den Theatre. Blending historical literary facts with emotional storytelling, The Book of Will is a perfect mix of fact and fiction and comedy and tragedy showing the audience that love and friendship transcend the toughest of challenges.

Led by director Beth Wolf and a cast of gifted actors playing other actors, a simple story of compiling William Shakespeare’s plays into a singular source is transformed into a magnetic period piece, in essence a love letter to sustain their friend’s legacy and preserve these plays for the ages.
The play opens in a public house three years after Shakespeare’s death. His surviving friends, aging actors from some of Shakespeare’s most iconic roles, lament that most of the plays are contained within memory and were only vague approximations of Shakespeare’s actual words. The Book of Will details the heroic efforts to collect the actual works of the late playwright into what would become the “First Folio,” a printed volume of his plays.

The storyline was easy to follow and unexpectedly gripping throughout. The admiration that the surviving cast of friends has for Shakespeare is apparent from the opening moments and the passion for his work emanates from the stage. Comedies such as The Book of Will rely on a pace to keep them going – slower for the more emotionally charged scenes and faster to carry the humorous ones, of which there are many. Yet, every member of the audience knows that the First Folio was published, so the plot twists and the seemingly insurmountable conflicts and tension belie a forgone conclusion.

The Book of Will could easily have turned into a dry, tedious foray into history. Beth Wolf does an excellent job of bringing the many elements of this tale together into a meaningful whole. Wolf, who has directed 11 of Shakespeare’s plays for her company Midsommer Flight, has Gunderson’s fine script and this excellent cast to make this happen.
Saving the words of this genius was nearly impossible with real obstacles, including a disastrous fire at the Globe Theatre, which destroyed many of the original texts. Picking up the pieces, we meet a cast of endearing characters and a few oddballs. Although the story follows two main friends of Shakespeare, this production is an ensemble piece. The cast is effective and strong across the board. Actors perform multiple roles as printers, poets, pubgoers and players and giving each scene richness and presence.

Brendan Hutt gave a dynamic performance as Richard Burbage, the actor with the most extensive institutional memory post-fire and who dies suddenly early into the story. Jared Dennis, who delivered a particularly heartfelt and moving performance as John Heminges, and Ben Veatch, who conveyed a gentleness and conviction as Henry Condell, hatch the scheme to recreate and publish the plays as Shakespeare wrote them. The two men must recreate the bits and pieces which remain, often from faith and memory. Their wives, Rebecca Heminges (lovely performance by Anne Sheridan Smith) and Elizabeth Condell (Sabine Wan showing solid theatrical flair) are equal partners and are invested in the folio because they love the plays and characters as much as their husbands.

The cast is rounded out by Jonathan Perkins, James Lewis, Jesus Barajas, Kevin Sheehan and Brittani Yawn each playing multiple roles. They capture both the serious tone and comedic timing of the play through dialogue, but especially through their stage presence and abilities. There is emotional depth, and each gives rich, layered performances. Some of my most enjoyable moments was watching Jonathan Perkins’ face and eyes magically create a comic environment whenever he was present. And James Lewis’s character’s drunken stumblings and exuberant nature were most entertaining too.

Design-wise, the show works well, utilizing every square inch of limited space so the stage does not feel too overcrowded. This gives the actors room to breathe. And they do so in the most wonderful period costumes by Rachel M. Sypniewski. I sat close to the actors on stage and marveled at the rich textures, colors and patterns of these beautifully designed and constructed garments. The scenic design (Trevor Dotson), sound (Alex Trinh) and lighting (Jackson Mikkelsen) seamlessly shift scenes with minimal distraction between eight different settings in London and Stratford-upon-Avon.

The Book of Will is a celebration of one of the greatest writers of all time. Gunderson deftly compiles all three Shakespearean modes – tragedy, comedy and history – into its fast-paced, dialogue-driven, character-rich story. Wolf made a decision to have her actors use their natural dialects rather than “British English” from the 17th century. This makes the production that much more accessible for the audience.

The powerful ending will underscore how these works have touched the hearts and souls of the entire world. And this singular, literary genius, William Shakespeare, was blessed to have a few friends he could count on. This relatively straight-forward story is a testament to the importance of theatre and storytelling – and laughter – in an increasingly dark world. It is a much-needed, fun night out at the theatre. And it’s a very good show!

LISTING INFORMATION
THE BOOK OF WILL
By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Beth Wolf
Through October 25, 2025
Thursdays-Saturdays at 8 pm, Sundays at 3 pm.
Industry night performance October 22 at 8 pm.

The Den Theatre
1331 N. Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago 60622
(773) 697-3830

Tickets Full Price: $30. Students/Seniors $25.

https://thedentheatre.com/den-theatre-tickets

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “”The Book of Will”.                                            photos by Steven Townsend