Louis Butelli: Here's a Health to the Company

Louis Butelli stars in Henry V at the Folger.

Hello again from your pal Louis Butelli!

Well, here we are, in the midst of our final week of Henry V at the Folger Theatre. It’s a special week for a variety of reasons. First, due to some pretty great press and overwhelming demand for tickets, this week is an extension from our initial closing date. Second, the excellent Richard Sheridan Willis had a pre-existing commitment and was unable to stay with us for the extension (more on that right here). This means that I am on as the Chorus this week. I hope you’re able to come along and see us as we race to the finish line!

Meanwhile, this will be my final post for Henry V. I just wanted to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to everyone who has been following along, and to the delightful Katie DeBuys for sharing blogging duties with me.

As we get ready to close our show, here are a few highlights from our time together, in case you didn’t get to read them the first time around:

• Go Backstage with Katie!
• Learn About St. Crispin’s Day!
• Robert Richmond’s Early Ideas About Henry V!
• Meet Catherine Flye!
• Meet James Keegan!
• Some Thoughts on Richard III’s Bones!

It’s hard to believe this journey is about to come to an end. It has been an honor to work on this great play with this amazing team, and a pleasure that it has been as successful as it’s been.

The great joy of working on any piece of theater is in the collaborative nature of the art form. A big, disparate group of people, from a number of specialized departments, must come together to create something larger than the sum of its parts.

Folger Theatre’s production of Henry V is no exception. Without the expertise and teamwork of every department – from the producers, the administrators, the front of house staff, the volunteers, and the security guards to the designers, the technical team, the marketing team, the stage management team, the performers, and the understudies – this production would simply never have been. So, thanks, guys! I’ll miss you all!

The cast & crew of Henry V. Photo by Scott Suchman.

Finally, to finish off this series of posts, I just want to take a second to acknowledge my dear friend and collaborator of many, many years, the director of Henry V, Robert Richmond. It is thanks to Robert’s vision and leadership that the show had the success that it did, and I am honored and excited to start working on his version of Twelfth Night, coming next to the Folger.

Thanks again for reading. Until next time!