First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare – Arizona

First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare was a touring exhibition from the Folger Shakespeare Library that visited one location in all 50 United States, Puerto Rico, and Washington DC in 2016 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

This article provides highlights from the exhibition’s visit to Arizona.


Exhibition Location: Tucson, Arizona

Exhibition Venue: University of Arizona

Exhibition Dates: February 15, 2016 – March 15, 2016


Partner Organizations:

  • Arizona State Schools for Deaf and Blind
  • Arizona Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies (Arizona State University)
  • Arizona Humanities
  • Arizona Public Media
  • Arizona Repertory Theatre (ART) of the School of Theatre, Film & Television
  • Arizona State Museum
  • Arizona Symphony Orchestra of the Fred Fox School of Music
  • Book Art & Letterpress Lab in the School of Art
  • English Speaking Union: Tucson Branch
  • Mesa Public Library
  • Panther Peak Bindery
  • Santa Cruz Valley Union High School
  • Tucson Festival of Books
  • Tucson Fringe Festival
  • University of Arizona Department of English
  • University of Arizona Libraries
  • University of Arizona Bookstores


Complementary Exhibition:

  • Shakespeare's Contemporaries and Elizabethan Culture, February 8, 2016 – July 29, 2016
A companion exhibit to the installation of First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare at the Arizona State Museum, focusing on materials in Special Collections that represent the Bard’s contemporaries—Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. In addition to examining specific plays and other literary works, the exhibit will include historical snapshots—documents that shaped Shakespeare’s culture—such as anti-theatrical polemics, scientific discoveries, and political activities. It is curated by rare books archivist Roger Myers from Special Collections and Professor Meg Lota Brown from the Department of English.


Event List:

  • January 13, 2016 – Shakespeare’s Family Values presented by Ian Frederick Moulton
  • February 9, 2016 – Lecture: Shakespeare's Women presented by Professor Meg Lota Brown
  • February 12, 2016 – She Surprised Shakespeare! – Murder Mystery Event
  • February 20, 2016 – Shakespeare First! From Page to Stage: Workshop for teachers
  • February 20, 2016 - A Saturday With Shakespeare – Family Day
  • February 21, 2016 – Free Screening of Shakespeare in Love
  • February 28 – April 3, 2016 – Arizona Repertory Theatre presents The Comedy of Errors and The Tempest
  • March 2, 2016 – The Texts of Hamlet: The Good, the Bad, and the Folio presented by University of Arizona and Arizona State University English professors
  • March 5, 2016 – English Speaking Union Shakespeare Competition Finals
  • March 5, 2016 – Music inspired by Shakespeare: Prokofiev, Gounod, Rossini, Verdi performed by the Arizona Symphony Orchestra and the Fred Fox School of Music voice faculty
  • March 8, 2016 – 15 Second Shakespeare! – Record your own 15 seconds of Shakespeare
  • March 12, 2016 – Tucson Festival of Books discussion on Shakespeare’s World with Dan Falk, Andrea Mays, and Eric Rasmussen
  • March 12, 2016 – Tucson Festival of Books discussion on Pursuing Shakespeare: A Man with A Dream with author Glenda Armanda and illustrator Floyd Cooper
  • March 12, 2016 – Tucson Festival of Books panel on Shakespeare Mysteries with Jennifer Lee Carrell, Carol Goodman, Charlie Lovett, and moderated by Lynda Zwinger
  • March 13, 2016 – Tucson Festival of Books discussion on Shakespeare’s First Folio with Andrea Mays and Eric Rasmussen
  • March 13, 2016 – Tucson Festival of Books discussion of The Science of Shakespeare: A New look At The Playwright’s Universe with Dan Falk and Chris Impey
  • March 14, 2016 – Annual Library Luncheon with Andrea Mays
  • April 14, 2016 – Early Book Lecture Series: What Did Playwrights Do When the Shakespearean Theaters Closed? by Professor Frederick Kiefer
  • April 14 – 24, 2016 – Pima Community College Center for the Arts presents Love’s Labour’s Lost
  • April 19, 2016 – Early Books Lecture Series: The Witches in Macbeth presented by Professor Tom Willard


Click here to learn about the First Folio that visited Arizona.