The young Prince Hal has many challenges before him. He must prove himself to his father, King Henry. He must face the deadly Harry “Hotspur” Percy, the knight leading the rebellion against his father. And he must survive being friends with the obese reprobate Sir John Falstaff, who seeks to use the prince for his own advantage. Written as two parts of an eight play series, HSF combined the two plays into one evening of theatre.
In a bold break from tradition, the show was cast in reverse gender – nearly all of the male roles were portrayed by female actors, and the women in the story were played by men. In a play that is dominated by powerful and ambitious men, this was a fascinating study in what it means to be a man – in every sense.
(For those of you interested in HSF trivia: this play was the prequel to Henry V, which the company had presented earlier that year in Reservoir Park. In an interesting twist, Hal was played by Amber Wagner, and Hostess Quickly by Robert Campbell – whereas in the production of Henry V, Robert played Hal as king, and Amber portrayed the Hostess. And though many actors returned for Henry IV, only one assumed the role of the same character in both – Brian Hoover as Pistol. Neat, huh?)