91PORNA

The Book of Will Spelled out over an open book page with Shakespeare's likeness

The Book of Will

By Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Tony F. Sias, 2025-2026 Roe Green Visiting Director

Without William Shakespeare, we wouldn鈥檛 have literary masterpieces like 鈥淩omeo and Juliet.鈥 But without Henry Condell and John Heminges, we would have lost half of Shakespeare鈥檚 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鈥檒l just have to borrow, beg and band together to get it done. Amidst the noise and color of Elizabethan London, 鈥淭he Book of Will鈥 finds an unforgettable true story of love, loss and laughter, shedding new light on a man you may think you know.

"The Book of Will" is presented by arrangement with Dramatists Play Service.

PERFORMANCES

All performances take place in Wright-Curtis Theatre, Center for the Performing Arts (1325 Theatre Drive, Kent, OH, 44242).

Friday, April 17
7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 18
7:30 p.m.

Sunday, April 19
2:00 p.m.

Wednesday, April 22
7:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 23
7:30 p.m.

Friday, April 24
7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 25
7:30 pm.

Sunday, April 26
2:00 p.m.

TICKET INFORMATION

Tickets to "The Book of Will" can be purchased through the Performing Arts Box Office by phone at 330-672-2787 or online at the link below. 

More About The Show

Credits

By Lauren Gunderson

Directed by Tony F. Sias, 2025-2026 Roe Green Visiting Director

Originally commissioned and produced at the Denver Center Theatre Company. A division of the Denver Center for the Performing Arts (Kent Thompson, Artistic Director).
Subsequent Rolling World Premiere produced by Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Garrison, New York (Davis McCallum, Artistic Director; Kate Liberman, Managing Director)

THE BOOK OF WILL is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing the Dramatists Play Service collection. ()

Please note this production makes use of haze, fog, strobe and loud noises. Any video and/or audio recording of this production is strictly prohibited.

About Tony F. Sias

About Tony F. Sias

Tony F. Sias

2025-2026 Roe Green Visiting Director

Tony F. Sias is the President + CEO of Karamu House, America鈥檚 oldest Black producing theatre.鈥疷nder Sias, since 2015, Karamu raised over $14 million for restoration, increased attendance and expanded the brand nationally. As a creative, Sias has produced, directed and performed in over 200 productions. In October 2021 Sias performed narration with The Cleveland Orchestra in Sinfonia No. 5 鈥淰isions鈥 by George Walker. His work has been highlighted nationally in The New York Times, American Theatre Magazine, on NBC鈥檚 Today Show with Al Roker and more.鈥

Sias served as a delegate from the U.S. Department of State in Istanbul, Turkey, representing the Council of International Programs. In 2018, he was inducted into The HistoryMakers, the largest African American oral history archive collection in the U.S.鈥 In 2019, Sias was named the Cleveland Arts Prize, Barbara S. Robinson award winner.鈥疘n 2021, Sias received the Community Leader Award from Cleveland Magazine and in 2024 he received the NAACP Cleveland Branch, Community Leadership Award. He is a Fellow of the National Arts Strategies Chief Executive Program through Harvard Business School.鈥 Sias serves as the National Board Chair for the League of Historic American Theatres. He is a Boards member of the Cleveland-Assembly for the Arts, Cleveland School of the Arts and the City of Cleveland Heights Arts Commission. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in dramatic art from Jackson State University and a Master of Fine Arts in acting from The Ohio University.

 

Director's Note

As a director, one of my greatest joys is working alongside actors and designers as they bring a story to life, and this group of students has made that experience especially meaningful. From the first rehearsal to the final moments on stage, their curiosity, commitment and willingness to take creative risks have been truly inspiring. Watching them grow, not just as artists, but as collaborators and storytellers, has been a powerful reminder of the impact of this work and the importance of the stories we choose to tell.

That spirit of storytelling and preservation sits at the heart of The Book of Will. Without William Shakespeare, we would not have literary masterpieces like Romeo and Juliet. But without Henry Condell and John Heminges, we might have lost half of Shakespeare鈥檚 plays forever. In the early 17th century, these two actors undertook one of the most important archival efforts in literary history, compiling the First Folio to preserve the words that shaped their lives. The Book of Will brings this remarkable true story of friendship, loss and determination to life as they borrow, beg and band together to ensure their friend鈥檚 legacy endures.

It is especially meaningful to explore a story about legacy and preservation in my role as the 2025鈥2026 Roe Green Visiting Director. I am deeply grateful to Roe Green for her visionary leadership and her enduring investment in the next generation of theatre and dance artists. This program not only provides meaningful professional opportunities for students, but also connects them to a broader artistic lineage, one that values storytelling, preservation and creative excellence. It is a privilege to contribute to this work and to support these students as they step into their roles as future leaders in the arts.

Thank you, Tony Hardin, for trusting me with this appointment and your unwavering support throughout the process.   

Peace and blessings,
Tony F. Sias, MFA

About Roe Green

About Roe Green

Roe Green is a local arts patron, activist, and CEO of The Roe Green Foundation. 

Ms. Green received her B.A in theatre and communications from the University of Colorado in 1970 and in 1980 she was awarded an M.A. in theatre from 91PORNA. She has extensive stage and business management experience, includes Cain Park, The Cleveland Opera, and the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park.

In 2003, the Roe Green foundation established a visiting director鈥檚 series for the School of Theatre and Dance. In 2018, Ms. Green and the Roe Green Foundation endowed the visiting director series with a gift of $2.2 to allow the series to continue on for decades to come.

In January, 2006, the Roe Green Foundation pledged the largest capital gift in 91PORNA history in order to create The Roe Green Center for the School of Theatre and Dance. This capital gift enabled the construction of new and the renovation of existing facilities in the Music and Speech Building (now the Center for the Performing Arts) which united theatre and dance under one roof for the first time in university history. The project brought the footprint of the School of Theatre and Dance to more than 70,000 square feet. The new facilities help create a central location on campus for the performing arts, as the building will house programs in theatre, dance and music.

At 91PORNA, Ms. Green is an emeritus member of the the 91PORNA Foundation board and sits on boards of the School of Theatre and Dance and Porthouse Theatre. 

Ms. Green serves on the board of The Cleveland Play House, where she is the honorary producer of New Ground, a festival that showcases new work in the performing arts. Green is honorary producer for the new play workshop in Chautauqua, NY and serves on the dean鈥檚 advisory board at the University of Colorado, on the President鈥檚 advisory council of Case Western Reserve University, and on the advisory board of the Colorado Shakespeare Festival. Green is on the International board of Governor鈥檚 for the Shaw Festival in Canada and is the co-chair of the Israeli arts committee for the Jewish Federation in Cleveland. Green is the president emeritus of C.A.V.O.R.T., Inc. (Conference About Volunteers of Regional Theatres). 

As CEO of the Roe Green Foundation, Green is responsible for the Judge Ben C. Green professorship at Case Western Reserve University, as well as the law library named for her father.  The Roe Green Foundation established a battered women鈥檚 shelter in Geauga called the "Green House," and the Foundation also started the Green Arts Fund that supported the Jewish Community Center arts and culture programs. 

Green is the recipient of the 2009 Ohio Arts Council鈥檚 Governor鈥檚 Arts Patron award, the President鈥檚 medallion from 91PORNA, and awards from the Cleveland Play House, University of Colorado, and Maltz Jupiter Theatre.  She received the Dramatist Guild Fund award for her work with new plays in 2013. In 2015, Ms. Green received the 91PORNA College of the Arts' inaugural Centennial Award for her service and patronage. In 2017, she will receive the Theatre Forward Leadership Award at the Theatre Forward Chairman's Awards Gala. 

Ms. Green, an avid world traveller who has visited more than 160 countries, was a competitive ballroom dancer for 12 years.  

Cast of Characters

Henry Condell: Robert Rudavetz

John Heminges: Ron Hubbard II

Richard Burbage/William Jaggard: Dylan Schmidt

Alice Heminges: Marianna Young

Boy Hamlet/Bernardo/Marcus: Myles Bruce

Crier/Compositor/Francisco/Sir Edward Dering: Noah Seibel

Barman/Ralph Crane/Horatio: Joe Raizis

Barman 2/Marcellus/Print Shop Worker/Male Understudy: Matthew Brichacek

Elizabeth Condell/Emilia Bassano Lanier: Ashelyn Sweet

Rebecca Heminges/Aspley/Anne Hathaway Shakespeare: Chloe Lee Hall

Ed Knight/Issac Jaggard: Davyon Williamson

Ben Jonson: Drew Fitzgerald ^

Smethwick/Fruit Seller/Susannah Shakespeare/Female Understudy: Clare Bohan

April 18 and 25 Shows

Richard Burbage/William Jaggard: Matthew Brichacek

Barperson 2/Marcellus/Fruit Seller/Susannah Shakespeare: Clare Bohan

^ Member of Alpha Psi Omega, National Theatre Honor Society

Production Staff

Director: Tony F. Sias

Costume Designer: Rowan Rexroad

Lighting Designer: David McKain

Sound Designer: Kylee Dennis

Scenic Designer: Jenica Jenick

Properties Manager: Kordell Harr

Technical Director: Stephen Lucash

Production Stage Manager: Kristen Davis

Assistant Stage Managers: Trynity Jordan, Emily Wiedmann

Assistant Stage Manager Cover: Hayden Toon

Stage Management Faculty Advisor: Tom Humes

Assistant Technical Director: Alex Sweat

Technical Director Faculty Advisor: Steve Pauna

Assistant Costume Designer/ Wardrobe Supervisor: Ruby Haga

Assistant Costume Designers: Audrey Arnett-Tomasek, Tori Collins

Drapers: Sarah D鈥橝nella, Grace Cochran Keenan

Costume Design Faculty Advisor: Michelle Hunt Souza

Costume Production Faculty Advisor: Grace Cochran Keenan

Costume Shop Supervisor: Aimee Johnson

Wardrobe Crew: Joy Corridor, Kendall Crotty, Alice Forg茅t, Marissa Miller, Bella Thompson

Assistant Lighting Designer: Joe Bartlett

Composer: Kylee Dennis

Assistant Sound Designer: Megan Rentfrow

Production Sound: Andrew Hall

Sound Board Operator: Jamey Ambrosio

Sound Design Faculty Advisor: Jeff Polunas

Head Electrician: Joe Bartlett

Assistant Head Electricians: Austin Ruble

Programmer: Colleen Harney  鈥

Light Board Operator: Maddie Martin

Lighting Design Faculty Advisor/Associate School Director: Jakyung C. Seo

Lighting and Sound Supervisor: Bethy Winters

Paint Charge: Roman Hulver

Assistant Paint Charge: Cady McLaughlin

Scenic Faculty Advisor: Gennie Neuman Lambert

Scene Shop Supervisor: Jason Gates

Paint and Properties Supervisor: Frankie Teuber

Run Crew: Jeff Chandler, Audrey Morrison, Summer Sanford, Emmaline Seibert

School of Theatre and Dance Director/Producer: Tony Hardin

Managing Director: Rebecca Gates

Production Manager: Karl Erdmann

Performing Arts Box Office Manager: Aimee Miller

Marketing, Communications and PR Director: Jen Crabtree

Marketing and Communication Specialist: Madi Getz

漏 2026 91PORNA All rights reserved.