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A DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE TITLE
Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 3w, 7m
Lauren Gunderson
After the death of their mentor William Shakespeare, two actors are determined to compile the First Folio and preserve The Bard’s words. No matter, they’ll borrow, beg and band together to become literary history.
Winner! 2018 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award Winner! 2017 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award
Without William Shakespeare, we wouldn’t have literary masterpieces like Romeo and Juliet. But without Henry Condell and John Heminges, we would have lost half of Shakespeare’s plays forever! After the death of their friend and mentor, the two actors are determined to compile the First Folio and preserve the words that shaped their lives. They might just have to borrow, beg and band together to etch the Bard’s name in history. Amidst the noise and color of Elizabethan London, The Book of Will finds an unforgettable true story of love, loss and laughter and sheds new light on a man you may think you know.
The Book of Will premiered on 13 January 2017 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts. Other notable regional productions include Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2018, Taproot Theatre in early 2024, and with Theatre Pro Rata at the Crane Theater in Minneapolis in fall 2025.
HENRY CONDELL – 40. Feisty, hopeful friend and actor in the King’s Men. (Henry, John and Richard wear identical mourning rings for Will) JOHN HEMINGES – 50. Reasonable friend and financial manager of the King’s Men. Owner of the Globe Tap House; a good man, a gentleman, if serious. (Henry, John and Richard wear identical mourning rings for Will) RICHARD BURBAGE – 50s. Seasoned lion of the stage, famous across England, loud and proud. (Henry, John and Richard wear identical mourning rings for Will) ALICE HEMINGES – 35, John’s daughter and alewife, knows everyone and hangs with the boys. BOY HAMLET – Young actor. BARMAN – Ruffian. BARMAN 2 – Drunk. BEN JONSON – Poet laureate of England, friend/rival of Shakespeare. Amazing drunk. A bear of a man. Surprisingly weepy. ELIZABETH CONDELL – Henry’s wife, savvy and fun. REBECCA HEMINGES – John’s wife, a good wife. Strong, busy with their grocery business, a woman who has weathered much but loves her husband and sons and God. ED KNIGHT – “Stage manager” for the King’s Men, self-serious and particular. RALPH CRANE – Humble scrivener of the King’s Men. Quick, sure, quiet. WILLIAM JAGGARD – Successful if shady publisher of books, plays and playbills. He is confident in his ability to get what he wants. Very experienced, very connected, willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. An ass. ISAAC JAGGARD – William’s son, will inherit the business. Sensitive, an artist at heart. MARCUS – 20, printer’s apprentice at the Jaggard print shop, nosy but honest. COMPOSITOR – Works for Jaggard, young. EMILIA BASSANO LANIER – 50, fiery Italian feminist and poet, independent woman, lover of life (and of Shakespeare). ANNE HATHAWAY SHAKESPEARE – 60, Shakespeare’s now ailing wife. Strong-willed, a classy lady, a survivor. SUSANNAH SHAKESPEARE – 30, good girl and daughter of Shakespeare. CRIER – Newsboy. BERNARDO, FRANCISCO – Actors playing those roles. SIR EDWARD DERING – 60, book and theatre lover. HORATIO FRUIT SELLER MARCELLUS
Doubling available for 10 actors. Casting should be diverse, Shakespeare is for everyone.
London and Stratford-upon-Avon, 1619 to 1623.
“Quite frankly, one of the best plays I have ever seen... In a word, a triumph.” – Boulder Weekly
“Gunderson has peopled the stage with lively, historically based characters. She paints a vivid portrait of the times in language sometimes formal, sometimes poetic, and often contemporary. She also gives a real feel for theater life and what it means to be an actor... you sense this is a work of both scholarship and love. The Book of Will serves as homage to those who sacrificed to make the First Folio happen and to Shakespeare’s magnificent words.” – Westword
“The Book of Will… unequivocally announces Gunderson as a playwright with whom to be reckoned. It is, quite frankly, one of the best plays I have ever seen. It will bring tears of both laughter and sorrow to all but the most jaded audience member’s eyes. It is, in a word, a triumph.” – Boulder Weekly
ON BREAKING CHARACTER
Lauren Gunderson in Five Playsby Ally Varitek5 April 2026
The Book of Will – PHX Theatre Trailer
The Book of Will – Oregon Shakespeare Festival
Lauren Gunderson is one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice, including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theater ...