Advertised boldly as the “best Shakespeare you’ve never seen,” OU’s Summer Stage presentation of “Henry IV” seemed to live up to this claim — it was highly entertaining, and there’s a good chance that most of the audience members had never seen “Henry IV” before.

“Henry IV” tells the story of the king’s son, Prince Henry of Wales, with less emphasis on the man that the play is actually named after. At the beginning of the play, Prince Henry runs with a bad crowd, including the jolly thief Falstaff. One thread of the play involves the prince’s rise to nobility in the eyes of his father, and another is the plotted rebellion to overthrow the king.

The producer and director of the play, Tom Huston Orr, is also director of the School of Drama. Orr also plays the fiery-tempered Hotspur, one of the main conspirators against the king.

It was really interesting to see Orr in the play knowing that he was also the director — it added a unique flavor to his acting.

Orr also played the prince 10 years ago at Orlando Shakespeare, but even without the audience’s knowledge of his long involvement with “Henry IV,” it was clear that Orr was experienced when he was on stage.

Orr even performed the part of Hotspur with a slight speech impediment, hesitating before words that began with a “w.”

The impediment was subtle, so it never detracted from the words or the acting. Apparently there is a tradition of giving Hotspur a speech impediment that dates back to Laurence Olivier’s performance of Hotspur in the 1940s.

Prince Henry was played by Ryan Claxton, a recent OU graduate. The play includes scenes of both humor and intense drama, and Claxton successfully mastered both moods. He played merry well whenever in his crony Falstaff’s presence, but his best moment in “Henry IV” was arguably the scene where the prince is confronted by his father.

Both Claxton and professional actor and OU alumnus Rick Nelson, who played the king, shone in this confrontation where voices were raised, but not to the point that the exchange ever felt like a shouting match. In terms of intensity, this moment was one of the best in the play.

Nelson as King Henry felt a little distant and cold, but this was all part of his role as the intimidating king.

As Prince Henry grows in the king’s esteem, he seems to warm up and become more human, and Nelson performs this transition with a natural progression.

Falstaff was played by Doug VanLiew, who graduated from OU with a master’s in 1988. Every time VanLiew was in a scene, he seemed to get all the attention from the crowd, who responded well to his character’s many jokes, puns and gags. It seems that even Shakespeare was fond of making “fat jokes,” since the subject of Falstaff’s weight was a source of constant humor in the play.

Another of the conspirators against the king was the Scottish Douglas, played by Clayton Winters, a recent OU graduate. Winters performed with a Scottish accent remarkably well, and his bloodthirsty character added just a hint of humor during the huge battle at the end of “Henry IV.”

Whether “Henry IV” was the best Shakespeare I’d never seen, I’m not sure — there are other Shakespeare plays that I haven’t seen yet, either.

However, this production was superbly acted, and the remaining shows this weekend are highly recommended.

“Henry IV” plays at 7 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and at 3 p.m. Sunday at the Weitzenhoffer Theatre, 563 Elm Ave.

-Megan Morgan is a professional writing senior.