MUCH ADO ABOUT A MYSTERY. What happened to the real William Shakespeare in his twenties? How did a rustic lad disappear from historical records in 1585 and burst into view on London’s stage eight years later transformed into a playwright sophisticated in the complexities of political, social and romantic intrigue? This wildly imaginative yarn with a strong historical flavor follows young Will on tantalizing and comedic adventures with spies and scholars, a plot to kill a queen, treachery in foreign lands, poetic interludes, battles at sea, encounters with great minds and the carnal, bloody and unnatural acts Horatio later speaks of in Hamlet. In pursuing their secret duties, William and his mentor, Malachi, trade quips with a wide range of their contemporaries from Marlowe to Montaigne, Spencer to Cervantes. These spirited and humorous exchanges often preview lines we will hear later in the works of the mature Shakespeare. Blend the brash exuberance of Shakespeare in Love with the wise innocence of Forrest Gump and you’ll easily recognize irreverent young William as you join our players in a scene already in progress…