Isadora Drew appears in Maui OnStage’s production of “William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged),” a fast-paced comedy in which three actors play more than 45 roles. Courtesy photo

With over 45 roles packed into the Maui OnStage production of “William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged),” this fast-paced comedic play relies on just three actors: Isadora Drew, Rocco Dahl and Daniel Vicars.

The versatile trio takes on an array of some of Shakespeare’s most iconic characters, including Hamlet, Lady Macbeth, King Lear and Puck from “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” while weaving a new tale centered on a rivalry between Puck and Ariel from “The Tempest.”

“Puck and Ariel are brought together and interact with all the different characters,” director Kristi Scott explained. “Dromio from ‘The Comedy of Errors’ interacts with Juliet, and Beatrice from ‘Much Ado About Nothing’ interacts with Richard III. It’s a bit all over the map, but not all the characters interact with each other.”

Created by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor of the Reduced Shakespeare Company, “William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged)” imagines the Bard’s first play as a fictional mashup of his famous characters and lines. It uses over 60% of Shakespeare’s actual language, blending it with pop culture references (such as Beyoncé and Harry Potter) and slapstick for a fast-paced, witty parody that lampoons Shakespeare’s canon.

It has received rave reviews. “Something wickedly funny this way comes!” The New York Times. “A breathlessly irreverent, pun-filled romp!” The Washington Post. “A contemporary Monty Pythonesque romp … Theatergoers of all ages were laughing their collective heads off.” Salt Lake Tribune.

Rocco Dahl is part of the three-actor cast of “William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged),” which brings together characters from across Shakespeare’s works in a comic mashup. Courtesy photo

“We’ve worked to make it fun and funny and accessible, even if you don’t know anything about Shakespeare,” said Scott. “And then the more you know about Shakespeare, the funnier it will be.”

Debuted in 2016, the play’s authors wrote: “Discovered in a treasure-filled parking lot in Leicester, England, an ancient manuscript proves to be the long-lost first play written by none other than 17-year-old William Shakespeare from Stratford. ‘William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged),’ is the literary holy grail: an actual manuscript in Shakespeare’s own hand showing all his most famous characters and familiar speeches in a brand-new story. But because it’s 100 hours long and contains multiple unwieldy storylines, it was decided, as a public service, to abridge it down to a palatable 90-minute performance.”

The Reduced Shakespeare Company is an American acting troupe that performs fast-paced, seemingly improvisational condensations of different topics. They have created 11 stage shows including “The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged),”

“The Complete History of America (abridged),” and “The Bible: The Complete Word of God (abridged),” which was almost banned in Northern Ireland.

The “Long Lost First Play” demands a lot of its actors. They are constantly racing around the stage, changing costumes and accents, making a comically flowery speech one minute and clowning around the next.

“For two of the actors, Shakespeare is fairly new to their mouths,” said Scott. “But they’re all strong actors in and of themselves. It is a challenge, but they’re really good actors and it’s fun creating all these different characters in one play.”

She explained, “even though it’s Shakespeare’s words, they’re much more accessible than just opening up ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and jumping in. It’s all smaller pieces and the lines are shorter. So I really hope people just come and have a good time. They can spend the two hours with an intermission and be impressed by the actors and just have fun.”

“William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged),” runs July 10-26 at the Iao Theater in Wailuku with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. on Sundays. Tickets range from $10 to $45 available at MauiOnStage.com or the theater box office. The production contains mild innuendo, comic violence, bawdy humor and the occasional rude word. The performance is recommended for audiences ages 10 and up. Theatergoers selecting front-row seats may find themselves caught in the crossfire of a brief but spirited water battle.

The 2026 Maui OnStage Season is sponsored by the Wave of Harmony Foundation in partnership with Marji Knowles and Michael Tibbott.

Daniel Vicars appears in “William Shakespeare’s Long Lost First Play (abridged),” running July 10-26 at the Iao Theater in Wailuku. Courtesy photo