Shakespeare in Delaware Park's 50th Season Continues 

Have you ever wondered how Shakespeare’s plays became the world-renowned works they are? 

 “The Book of Will,” a play by Lauren Gunderson, currently being performed at Road Less Traveled Theater, answers that question. Telling the story of how Shakespeare’s contemporaries saved and compiled his works after his death, this production brings together the forces of Road Less Traveled Productions (RLTP) and Shakespeare in Delaware Park as the latter celebrates its 50th anniversary. 

Lisa Ludwig, executive director of Shakespeare in Delaware Park, believes this production is a great fit for their anniversary celebration. 

Actors on stage at RLTP

 “You go on stage every summer, and you speak these words that have been here forever; you don’t think about what it took to get those words here,” said Ludwig. 

“The Book of Will” is RLTP’s Curtain Up! production, which kicks off the Buffalo Theater District’s season. The play also serves as the culmination of Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s summer season. 

Directed by John Hurley, and starring Shakespeare in Delaware Park actors, the play follows Henry Condell and John Heminges as they assemble the First Folio of Shakespeare’s works to preserve the words they had acted out on stage. 

“This year, we partnered with the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (BECPL) system because they do house a couple copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio,” said Gina Gandolfo, managing director of RLTP. “They allowed us to bring the actors in to see the folios that they have housed in their archives.” 

The cast received a private tour of these archives in preparation for their production. 

The BECPL also put together a display of Shakespearean artifacts for the lobby of the Road Less Traveled Theater, which will be there throughout the run of the show. 

Gandolfo believes the audience will be surprised to learn the story of the unsung heroes behind these famous works. 

“This kind of gives you that inside look at how they came together, and they saw Shakespeare and what he really meant to them to be able to put these folios together,” Gandolfo said. 

“People tend to view [Shakespeare] like a god,” said Sara Foote, general director of RLTP, "But this show helps the audience to understand the man himself, how he was viewed by his peers."

The set is designed to transport the audience to London, England, in the early 1620s. As for costumes, the actors were able to pull most of them from Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s stock. 

With a cast of 12 actors, many of them play multiple characters. Ludwig said this was a feature of how the play was written so smaller theaters would be able to perform it. 

“There’s quick costume changes. You put on a hat, you’re a different person, and the play is written that way,” she said. 

“The Book of Will” is not the only way Shakespeare in Delaware Park has celebrated its anniversary, though. In March, they brought back the Ides of March Fabulous Feast fundraiser. Throughout the summer, they did a touring production of 50 performances for 50 years at schools and community centers. 

Keep an eye out for another fundraising event in the winter to close out Shakespeare in Delaware Park’s 50th season. 

To see “The Book of Will,” get tickets here. Find the interview with Gina Gandolfo and Sarah Foote here.

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