1588. The Spanish Armada is sunk. Queen Elizabeth secures her power over England and its expanding empire. Ever the savvy businessman, William Shakespeare rewrites history into a series of "history" plays that celebrate England's history of military and political prowess. Perhaps the most famous of these -- rather, the one with the most famous Falstaff scenes -- is Henry IV, Part 1. In basic entertainment value the play isn't Shakespeare's best: Though Falstaff and Prince Hal swap deliciously snarly insults, their relationship isn't nearly as believable (or as believably antagonistic) as, say, the GOD-I-HATE-YOU relationships between Romeo and Tybalt or Hamlet and Claudius. It isn't as fraught or labyrinthine as Hamlet, as philosophical as The Tempest or as imaginative as A Midsummer's Night Dream. Still, in its humble way it's engaging. And -- let's face it -- even Shakespeare's twelfth best play is better than 95% of plays scribed by other playwrights. Recommended for the bard's "completists".