Leontes’ jealousy is triggered when his pregnant wife persuades his closest friend to extend his stay at their palace.

The Duke’s true identity is revealed at last, and order is finally restored.

In Part Two of his interview, Nat Cassidy explains why the “rape room” got cut, why horror exists, why writing a script is forty-seven thousand times easier than writing a novel, why actors should celebrate the audition even if they don’t get the job, why Open Source Shakespeare is the adapters’ best friend, and why the elitism and classism of rehearsal rooms drove him from pursuing a career as a classical actor. Plus, a special easter egg for all you logophiles: listen for the word stichomythia in action!

Upon the Duke’s return to power, Isabella confronts Lord Angelo with public accusations of his wrongdoing. A mysterious woman arrives with the promise to absolve him.

We’re changing things up a bit today and bringing you a preview of a new podcast we’re enjoying and think you will, too. Where There’s a Will: Finding Shakespeare searches for the surprising places Shakespeare shows up outside the theater. Host Barry Edelstein, artistic director at one of the country’s leading Shakespeare theaters, and co-host writer and director Em Weinstein, ask what is it about Shakespeare that’s given him a continuous afterlife in all sorts of unexpected ways? You’ll hear Shakespeare doing rehabilitative work in a maximum security prison, helping autistic children to communicate, in the mouths of U.S. presidents, and even at the center of a deadly riot in New York City. In this preview, Barry takes us into California’s Centinela State Prison for a one-of-a-kind production of Shakespeare’s English history plays performed by incarcerated individuals. Barry asks: What makes Shakespeare a force of transformation and transcendence behind bars? Hear more from Where There’s a Will at https://podcasts.pushkin.fm/wtaw?sid=pop.

“She dared me to read Macbeth”: How the lonely son of a single mom in Arizona was inspired by a teacher who despised him to embrace his demons and become a celebrated scribe of horror. Author, Actor and POP “Measure for Measure” script adaptor Nat Cassidy talks about the spellbinding image of Sissy Spacek covered in blood, the fulfillment of writing for audio, the short distance between Shakespeare and Stephen King, and just how much can happen when kids have too much time on their hands...

Angelo persists with plans to execute Claudio even after falling for the “bed-trick”, but Friar Lodowick manages to save Isabella’s brother with a “head-trick”. Plus, Pompey introduces his new podcast: “Bars”!

“We got rid of the table.” Fiasco Theater co-founders Jessie Austrian and Noah Brody describe how they up-ended traditional norms of theatrical hierarchy to create one of the most acclaimed ensembles in the country, and why they love “the gloriously free playground” of podcasts.

Claudio begs Isabella to agree to Angelo’s bargain as the Duke scrambles for a plan to save her honor. Mistress Overdone and Pompey are sent to jail.

Isabella pleads with Lord Angelo, igniting his passions.

“Slimey isn’t funny”: Aditi Brennan Kapil geeks out about the places in our brain where we can’t poke around, where language lives, what’s in a word, how to translate for the experience of the audience, the joy of staring at a single sentence by Nabokov, and how to get a laugh without pointing at your penis.

Lucio informs Isabella of her brother’s incarceration and impending execution while Angelo and Escalus try to make sense of a case against Pompey brought by a hilariously incompetent police constable named Elbow.

The Duke of Vienna, overwhelmed by the affairs of State, hands control of the city over to the morally rigid Lord Angelo, who closes all brothels and arrests Claudio, brother of the novice nun Isabella, for getting his fiance pregnant before marriage.

Twelfth Night Director Christopher Liam Moore, and Actress Amy Brenneman talk about meeting at Harvard, and the different times they've been able to work together throughout their multi-decade friendship.

"Un-clench the sphincter!" Writer / Actor / Comedienne Colleen Werthmann (Exeter and Orleáns in "HENRY V") describes how the White House Correspondents Dinner and The Academy Awards relate to Shakespeare’s plays, and why it’s so important not to take yourself too seriously (Will Smith, take note!).

Henry must conquer Katharine’s heart before he can finally conquer France, and Pistol must eat his words (with a side of leeks) before he can finally show his face to Fluellen.

Actor Bobby Moreno connects the dots between betting on horses in kindergarten, drunken rampages in the streets of New York, licking chocolate off Steven Boyer’s nipples in front of an audience at brunch, rapping under a pseudonym and playing Henry the Fifth in a new play by William Shakespeare (among other things).

Henry finishes the fight against the French and amongst his friends, quenching his rage over the slaughter of children with a lopsided victory at Agincourt.

Lezlie Cross takes us on a tour of the good, the bad, and the ugly things going on in England at the time when Shakespeare wrote HENRY V. Spoiler alert: Playwrights usually outlast actors. Especially ones who insist on ruining good endings with bad jigs!

Henry huddles with his troops incognito, gauging their loyalty and boosting their morale before rallying them with one of the greatest speeches of all time

Bardolph is put to death for stealing from a church, and King Henry vows to soak the ground with the blood of anybody who tries to stop him from taking all of France.

Henry seizes the town of Harfleur as the French nobles mock his army and the Princess learns to speak the strange and laughable language of English.

King Henry executes three of his closest friends for treason and strengthens his resolve, King Charles the Beloved frets in France, and Henry’s pals from his wild past mourn the death of Sir John Falstaff.

Composer David Reiffel, Recording Engineer Daniel Benshimon, Sound Designer Lindsay Jones, and Studio Owner & Manager Robert Cappadona take us through the in-depth process that goes into creating and executing the songs you hear throughout the Play On Shakespeare Podcast Series. Come Away from Episode 3 of Twelfth Night is the song they focused on in the second part of this interview!