“I, Will: A Late Romance,” September 10 through 27

Thursday, September 10, through Sunday, September 27

Riverside Theatre, 119 East College Street, Iowa City IA

Opening its 2026-27 season with the theatre's 40th world premiere since its inception, Iowa City's Riverside Theatre debuts the period comedy I, Will: A Late Romance from September 10 through 27, its Emmy Award-winning author Scott Carter tackling a plague, a demanding king, an increasingly frustrated acting company, and a playwright wondering if his best work is behind him.

What happens when the greatest playwright in history loses his inspiration? In I, Will: A Late Romance, the year is 1608: London is under the shadow of plague, its ruler is erratic, and the arts are in peril. (Sound familiar?) Shakespeare's latest tragedies are no longer drawing audiences, his acting company wants a crowd-pleaser, the King needs a Psalm, and the playwright himself is questioning whether his greatest work is behind him. When an unlikely encounter sends him into the colorful world of star-crossed lovers, brash rogues, and enterprising brothel keepers, Shakespeare discovers that inspiration often arrives where we least expect it.

Playwright Scott Carter's previous works include The Gospel According to Thomas Jefferson, Charles Dickens, and Count Leo Tolstoy: Discord, which Riverside produced in 2019. Carter is an Emmy-winning producer (HBO’s Real Time with Bill Maher, PBS’s Love & Respect with Killer Mike) and the host of the NPR podcast Ye Gods with Scott Carter. Directing I, Will is Riverside Theatre Producing Artistic Director Adam Knight, whose recent productions have included Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Lifespan of a Fact, and this summer's outdoor presentation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

“When I directed Scott’s play Discord in 2019," says Knight, "I was struck by how he took these three famous figures we thought we knew and thrust them into a hilarious reckoning both as both writers and people. I, Will expands that theme. We know Shakespeare’s work, but his life remains an enigma. A man of his time and a man ‘for all time,’ this play finds an all-too human Will grappling with his legacy – and his own traps of self.”

I, Will offers audiences a laugh-filled glimpse into the history and creative spark that may have inspired Shakespeare's celebrated Romances, the name given to his quartet of late plays Pericles, Cymbeline, The Winter’s Tale, and The Tempest. Blending actual events with inspired fancy, this new work celebrates the craft of storytelling, collaboration, and the enduring power of theatre to find hope in uncertain times. I, Will is also a National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere. Following its run at Riverside, productions will take place at Stage West Theatre in Fort Worth, Texas, and Invisible Theatre in Tucson, Arizona. This production marks Riverside Theatre’s 40th world premiere over its 46-year history.

An accomplished ensemble of returning favorites and artists making their Riverside debuts enact I, Will. Tim Budd plays William Shakespeare, joined by Kristy Hartsgrove Mooers, Deucalion Martin, Aaron Pozdol, Joshua Fryvecind, Janette Luu, Joseph Lepire, Elizabeth Nieman, and K. Michael Moore. Director Knight's creative team includes: Shawn Ketchum Johnson (scenery and projections); Karlē J. Meyers (costumes); Kim Fain (lights); Dakota Parobek (sound and original composition); K. Michael Moore (fight choreography); Kathleen Johnson (intimacy direction); Stephen Polchert (props); stage manager Rebekah Leipold; and assistant stage manager Jackie McCall. Lauded Shakespeare scholar and University of Iowa professor emerita Miriam Gilbert, meanwhile, serves as the production dramaturg.

Following its 7:30 p.m. preview performances on September 10 and 11, I, Will: A Late Romance will run in downtown Iowa City September 12 through 27, with performances Thursdays through Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Following the Sunday, September 13 matinee, audiences are invited to stay for Riverside Theatre's Oaknoll Sunday Talkback Series, hosted by Miriam Gilbert and featuring playwright Scott Carter. Admission is $18-43, and I, Will: A Late Romance is generously sponsored by Denice and Michael Connell and the National New Play Network, with additional support provided by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Iowa Arts Council, which exists within the Iowa Economic Development Authority.

For more information and tickets, call (319)259-7099 and visit RiversideTheatre.org.