Actor Plays 11th Great Grandmother In THE BOOK OF WILL

Main Street Theater (MST) is currently playing the Regional Premiere of Lauren Gunderson's The Book of Will.

This compelling play tells the tale of how Shakespeare's First Folio came into existence thanks to the loyalty and love of his dear friends. One character in the play is Emilia Bassano Lanier, often surmised to be Shakespeare's mysterious "Dark Lady" about whom he wrote sonnets and left us to wonder about this lady love. Lanier, in her own right, was quite accomplished: she was the first Englishwoman to publish a volume of her own poetry Salve Deux Rex Judaeorum; a proto-feminist (one of the first in England); and as we now know, the writer of the first published "country house poem," Description of Cookham, in 1611 as part of Salve Deux Rex Judaeorum (Ben Jonson's more famous To Penshurst may have been written earlier but wasn't published until 1616).

In MST's production of The Book of Will, Emilia Bassano Lanier is played by Elizabeth Marshall Black who is the 11th great-granddaughter of Lanier herself. "My mother's maiden name was Lanier. So it's a little surreal getting to play someone I'm actually related to," says Ms. Black. "It's been really great." She adds, "I love Shakespeare. I have since I was very young, so it's really great to just be in a play that talks about his world being preserved and his work being preserved." Ms. Black also plays Rebecca Condell, wife of Henry Condell (one of Shakespeare's closest friends and fellow theater company members) and Anne Hathaway Shakespeare in the production.

After Shakespeare's death, his plays were pirated, performed and published in inaccurate and clumsy versions. Loyal friends and actors in Shakespeare's company embark on a labor of love to compile the First Folio and preserve the words that shaped their lives.

The Book of Will runs through October 21 at MST - Rice Village, 2540 Times Blvd. Performances are Thursdays - Saturdays at 7:30pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets are $36 - $48, depending on date, section, and availability. All tickets are on sale via phone at 713.524.6706 or online at MainStreetTheater.com.

About Main Street Theater

Main Street Theater provides theater experiences for all ages. Founded in 1975, our MainStage produces professional, intimate, literary plays for adults and operates under an Actors' Equity Association union contract; our Theater for Youth produces professional, engaging productions based on children's literature for families and school groups, both in-house and on tour around Texas; and we offer Education and Outreach programs on-site and at satellite locations around the Greater Houston area for youth aged 4 - high school. We work out of 2 facilities: our Rice Village home on Times. Blvd., and as part of the MATCH (Midtown Arts & Theater Center Houston) on Main Street.

Main Street Theater is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters, of Theatre for Young Audiences/USA (formerly ASSITEJ), the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people, and a founding member of Houston Arts Partners. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

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