First Folio! The Book that Gave Us Shakespeare – Michigan

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 Michigan.

Exhibition Location: Detroit, Michigan

Exhibition Venues: Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit Public Library, Wayne State University

Exhibition Dates: March 7, 2016 – April 3, 2016


Partner Organizations:

  • Detroit Institute of Arts
  • Detroit Public Library


Complementary Exhibition:

  • Detroit Public Library Display, February 15 – April 1, 2016
Shakespeare exhibit on display in the Burton Historical Collection at the Detroit Public Library, featuring rare editions (the Second Folio, 1632; the Fourth Folio, 1685) and Shakespeariana from the 18th and 19th centuries


Event List:

  • January 29 – March 12, 2016: The Hilberry Theatre Company performs Love’s Labour’s Lost
  • February 11, 2016 – K-12 Teacher Workshop on Shakespeare’s First Folio
  • February 25, 2016 – Lecture: Knowledge on Tap by Professor Ken Jackson
  • February 26, 2016 – Shakespeare in Detroit presents Julius Caesar
  • March 8, 2016 - Michigan Shakespeare Festival and Trivia Tuesday for High School Students
  • March 10, 2016 - Master Class with Mary Thomas Crane
  • March 10 – 11, 2016 – Academic Conference: Shakespeare and His Culture on Stage & on the Page featuring Professor David Bevington and Professor Mary Thomas Crane
  • March 13, 2016 – Film screening, The Stratford Festival Production of King Lear
  • March 18, 2016 – Lecture: Everything You Wanted to Know About Shakespeare But Were Afraid to Ask by Mary Adelaide Hester
  • March 22, 2016 – Wayne State Insiders Tour of First Folio! and Wayne State’s rare book collection
  • March 29, 2016 – Speed Shakespeare! with Wayne State Graduate Students
  • April 1, 2016 – Film screening, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead


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