OFF-BROADWAY PRODUCTION
HOW SHAKESPEARE
SAVED MY LIFE
by JACOB MING-TRENT
COMING SOON IN 2026
A Co-production with Berkeley Repertory Theater
and Folger Theatre
Directed by Tony Taccone
Music by Jacob Ming-Trent
Starring Jacob Ming Trent
"America tried to take my life, and somehow a five-hundred-year-old white dude saved it."
How Shakespeare Saved My Life is an autobiographical-inspired theatrical work by playwright and Broadway performer Jacob Ming-Trent. In this tour-de-force performance, Jacob Ming-Trent dares to rescue himself from the “slings and arrows” of his past. Born with a gift for poetry but rejected as unfit to play the part of the poet, Ming-Trent’s search for home is relentless, and the results are by turns hilarious and tragic. Invoking a host of artistic geniuses such as Biggie, Tupac, Shakespeare, and Basquiat, Ming-Trent takes us on a propulsive ride that reaffirms the power of language and music. It all adds up to how one man’s attempt to reclaim his life may connect to the deeper parts of ourselves and to each other. How Shakespeare Saved My Life is an epiphany that begins with Shakespeare but becomes a ritual of salvation and forgiveness that invites the audience to save themselves and each other.
Berkeley Repertory Theatre: January 23 – March 1 2026
Folger Theatre: June 1 – July 3 2026
Red Bull Theater: September 2026
ABOUT BERKELEY REP
Berkeley Repertory Theatre has grown from a storefront stage to an international leader in innovative theatre. Known for its ambition, relevance, and excellence, as well as its adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a welcoming home for emerging and established artists since 1968. Over 6 million people have enjoyed more than 500 shows at Berkeley Rep, including 87 world premieres. Berkeley Rep shows have gone on to win eight Tony Awards, nine Obie Awards, 11 Drama Desk Awards, a Grammy Award, a Pulitzer Prize, and many other honors. In recognition of its place on the national stage, Berkeley Rep received the Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre in 1997. Through its annual seven-play season, together with up to four special event presentations, Berkeley Rep invites audiences to enjoy an eclectic range of theatrical experiences featuring diverse artistic voices, themes, and perspectives. To formalize, enhance, and expand the processes by which Berkeley Rep makes theatre, The Ground Floor: Berkeley Rep’s Center for the Creation and Development of New Work was launched in 2012. Serving some 20,000 people a year, Berkeley Rep’s School of Theatre ensures broad access to dynamic arts educational activities, especially for Bay Area youth, and provides immersive training for current and future theatre makers. In 2021, Berkeley Rep launched In Dialogue, a program that places its theatre-making skills and resources in service of the community. Using storytelling as an anchor, In Dialogue is developing long-term collaborations with local, socially centered organizations, as well as educating and activating our audiences around organizations whose work aligns with the themes of our productions. Berkeley Rep’s bustling facilities—which include the 600-seat Roda Theatre, 400-seat Peet’s Theatre, Medak Center, and a spacious campus in West Berkeley—are helping revitalize a renowned city. Learn more at berkeleyrep.org.
ABOUT FOLGER THEATRE
The Folger Shakespeare Library makes Shakespeare’s stories and the world in which he lived accessible. Anchored by the world’s largest Shakespeare collection, the Folger is a cultural organization where curiosity and creativity are embraced, and conversation is always encouraged. Visitors to the Folger can choose how they want to experience the arts and humanities, from interactive exhibitions to captivating performances, and from path-breaking research to transformative educational programming. The Folger welcomes everyone to connect in their own way—from communities throughout Washington, DC, to communities across the globe. Learn more at www.folger.edu.
The award-winning Folger Theatre in our nation’s capital bridges the arts and humanities through transformational performances and programming that speak inclusively to the human experience. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Karen Ann Daniels, Folger Theatre continues its legacy through exciting interpretations and adaptations of Shakespeare and expands the classical canon through cultivating today’s artists and commissioning new work that is in dialogue with the concerns and issues of our time. Folger Theatre thrives both on its historical stage and in the community, engaging audiences wherever they happen to be. For more on Folger Theatre, please visit www.folger.edu/theatre.
THE CAST
"My skin, it is the cause. My skin, it is the cause, and yet i do not wish my skin were whiter than snow. I am Othello. Not just in the play cause all the worlds a stage"
"I'm winning at life cause i got cheat codes. But the code switching got my head swimming, scratching like schizophrenic verses with overfull line endings"
"Halleluiah i found this old white dead dude who seem to articulate the unarticulated feelings i had. i could quote biggie's "im ready to die" or tupac's "brenda had a baby", But If i could quote Shakespeare to the MAN, then the MAN would see me as a young MAGICAL NEGRO! But i wasn't magical, i was just smart."
ABOUT THE PLAY
I sat down four months ago to write a different story, but my subconscious, my soul, my spirit, my ancestors demanded I write this Epic Poem. I named this Poem "how Shakespeare saved my life", because mine was a life that needed saving, And a five-hundred-year-old dead white man lent me a hand. In America, it is often said that the only way out of the ghetto is to make music or play ball. Shakespeare was my way out. I was the son of two mentally ill parents, homeless twice before the age of sixteen, a high school drop out, short, fat, black, and ugly, and Shakespeare transformed me. Shakespeare didn't change me, he revealed to me the beauty that lived within me. As a black man fighting injustice daily, my anger and need for revenge almost killed me. Shakespeare taught me how to forgive, and I'm thankful. I'm not here to share my story, but to tell you parts of my tale in the hope that this might save a life as well!
- Jacob Ming-Tent
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
Jacob Ming-Trent TV: "White Famous," Showtime (series regular), "Watchmen," HBO (series regular), "Ray donavan," Showtime (Recurring), "Feed the beast," AMC (recurring). Also seen on, "Only Murders in the Building," "WU-TANG: An American Saga," "New Amsterdam," "God friended Me," "High maintenance," and several more. Film: Superfly, Forty-year-old Version, Snakes, R#J, Possession of hannah grace, The Bygone, Julie Taymour's Midsummer Night's Dream and others. Broadway: Shrek The Musical (Original cast), Hands on a Hardbody, (Original Cast). Off Broadway: The Harder They Come, Pedro, Public theater, Lortel Nom. The Alchemist, Mammon, Red Bull Theater, Lortel Nom. Merry wives, Falstaff, Public theater, Drama desk nom. Father Comes Home From The Wars, Public Theater, Lortel Award. Twelfth Night, Sir Toby, Public Theater. Cymbeline, Public Theater. Mother Courage, CSC. Merchant of Venice, TFANA. Midsummer Night's Dream, TFANA. Widowers Houses, Epic Theater Ensemble. Tempest, Public Theater. On the Levee, Lincoln Center.