How Shakespeare Saved My Life, Folger Theatre, Washington, DC

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Jacob Ming-Trent in How Shakespeare Saved My Life at Folger Theatre. Photo credit: Erika Nizborski.

In September 2025, I reviewed Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of The Merry Wives, an updated adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor as filtered through award-winning playwright Jocelyn Bioh. I wrote the following about the actor playing one of the leading roles:

“Jacob Ming-Trent is having a wonderful time as Falstaff, the crude, disheveled mountain of a man whose presence is so real one could almost smell his stench. Ming-Trent gives a charismatic performance in his first STC appearance.”

How Shakespeare Saved My Life is Ming-Trent’s personal story of his relationship to Shakespeare, as introduced by a high school teacher. The high school student found his inspiration in the words of the world’s most famous playwright and began to consider (and call) himself from an early age “a Shakespearean actor.” Shakespeare served as a beacon for a young man in Pittsburgh with a troubled home life: a drug-addicted, often absent father and a mother unable to give him the love he needs. The details are somewhat familiar: a high school dropout in search of a “tribe,” he falls in with the “wrong” crowd, but it is a place where he finds the acceptance he could not find at home. Eventually, one of the other members of his gang recognizes something special about him, then forces him out of the gang so that he can develop the nascent talents he has, like a mother bird pushes her young out of the nest.

Young Ming-Trent finds his way to New York, where he receives conflicting messages from his teachers in his quest to make his ambition come true, He is wrong for Shakespeare. One teacher tells him that “a fat Black man” could never be cast as Hamlet. Young Ming-Trent confronts his teachers: he could “do” Shakespeare in Ian McKellen’s voice, but it would not be authentic. Can’t he be just as authentic (if not more so) in his own voice? Ming-Trent explains that what Shakespeare did was no different from what rappers/hip hop artists Tupac Shakur or Biggie Smalls (also known as the Notorious B.I.G.) were doing in the raps they devised: taking a look around and reporting what they see, using the language of the day. As he ingratiates himself to the audience, he invites their participation: at various points in the evening, the audience is instructed to respond “Play on,” later they are asked to endorse his playing Othello.

Ming-Trent’s story is certainly compelling, and he tells it in such a way that it seems to be a hybrid between biographical storytelling and preaching. (He refers to the audience often as “Congregation.” If he had not persisted as an actor, he might have become successful as a preacher.) When he tells his story, he takes on a variety of characters that he encounters: in addition to the aforementioned teacher (among others), he enacts each of his parents, two specific members of the gang, and a cellmate.

Jacob Ming-Trent in How Shakespeare Saved My Life at Folger Theatre. Photo credit: Erika Nizborski.

I can’t help but feel somewhat awkward about responding to a play using one man’s struggles. The play’s content is regularly peppered with quotes from Shakespeare’s plays; I may have missed the context of some, but there was no doubt about the sincerity of his delivery of Macbeth’s “Tomorrow and tomorrow” speech. What Ming-Trent has accomplished professionally (as demonstrated in this performance as well as the STC’s Merry Wives) more than validates his talent and drive as an actor and is to be admired. In a program note, he indicates a key objective of his play as “If this play inspires even one person to write, to join a class, to reach out to an artist they admire, to support or connect with a child or artist in need, it has done its work. Then, the play has struck a blow for humanity.”

Theatre is a collaborative art, and as such, it demands the contributions of a number of individuals to create “a one-man show.” Key among his collaborators is director Tony Taccone, who I imagine helped playwright Ming-Trent maintain focus and edit a compelling life story into an approximately 85-minute performance. He and choreographer Tiffany Rachelle Stewart ensure that the play keeps rushing ahead. They, in turn, are blessed to have scenic designer Takeshi Kata, lighting designer Alan C. Edwards, and projection designer Alexander V. Nichols, who do amazing things on the Folger stage, each design element being used to maximum effect in creating and maintaining the flow of events and exploring one young man’s journey. I can’t remember a physical production in this space with such an integrated effort. Danielle Preston designs Ming-Trent’s singular costume, which the production team wisely chooses not to clutter with a lot of unnecessary accessories. Sound designer/composer Jake Rodriguez has created a complex soundtrack of noises and original music that seems natural and fitting as it unfolds. I must also note production stage manager Taylor Kiechlin, who makes brief onstage appearances facilitating scene changes.

The language and content are adult in nature, so this is not a play for everyone. As such a personal play, I’m not sure I can envision another actor taking on the role while I marvel at Ming-Trent’s ability to relive much trauma from his past. His commitment, though, is just one indicator of his personal inner strength and resilience. I look forward to Ming-Trent’s next DC area performance, whether Shakespeare or not. How Shakespeare Saved My Life continues at Folger Theatre through July 5. 

Jacob Ming-Trent in How Shakespeare Saved My Life at Folger Theatre. Photo credit: Erika Nizborski.