WASHINGTON — As April washes into May, the Bard's the thing here; his dulcet lines practically within earshot of the Capitol's waxing and waning on the minimum wage.

William Shakespeare turned 450 on April 23, the same date he died. He was only 52 — I know, I know — when he died in the same country town where was born. Perfect circle.

The mirthful lover-like comedy onstage at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre, "The Two Gentlemen of Verona," is one of his earliest works. He had just arrived on the bustling London Globe Theater scene from the countryside.

At first, this slight, charming play didn't seem quite the right way to celebrate a big happy birthday and honor Shakespeare's lifetime oeuvre. Consider his history plays, unforgettable tragedies and, well, what about "The Tempest"? How wrong I was. The central question in this playful lark is, "Who am I?" as if to set the stage for a thousand plays, novels and poems in the English language that ask the same question.

The uncanny wonder of the Folger show somehow brings the Bard back to life as a young man. Shakespeare, early in his 30s, was on the cusp of budding into the playwright of the Elizabethan age, with competition from Christopher Marlowe. His talents could come out to play here, and perhaps only he knew the extent of his poetical gifts then.

The young Fiasco Theater Company that created this version of "Gentlemen" came here from New York and has taken Washington theatergoers by storm. Making it more resonant, they are roughly the same age as Shakespeare when he started out as a writer-actor. There are only six players, and their staging is as stark as it can get. Often it is only the actors, some chairs, a few musical instruments and the text. It is a simple feast.

Noah Brody, who plays Proteus, one of the starry-eyed gentlemen, is a co-founder of Fiasco Theater. He sat down with me one afternoon before a performance with two colleagues, co-founder Jessie Austrian and Paul L. Coffey, a founding member of the company who plays both Speed and Thurio. Several in the close-knit group studied for graduate masters of fine arts degrees at Brown University, where they first bonded and collaborated.

Austrian, who plays Julia, co-directed this sparkling ensemble production. It is about a journey of identity, she and the other players say. For one thing, the text explores friendship versus romantic love and, at a most basic level, what it means to be a gentleman. In Shakespeare's day, the 1590s, that social status was no small question. The future Bard may have been close to achieving this distinction, but he was not from a wealthy or a fancy family.

"The characters, Valentine and Proteus, take a journey through the woods," Austrian said. The journey itself changes the light-hearted, ardent young men and, as Brody says, brings them face-to-face who they may become in a more mature incarnation: "It's amazing how Shakespeare found the humanity in all the different, possible selves."

Coffey and the others say the journey through the woods shows the sharp divergence between country and city. They were like two different worlds then, and Shakespeare himself had just made a similar crossing, from bucolic Stratford-upon-Avon to the big city. The Fiasco Theater actors say it is not an autobiographical play. We know so little about Shakespeare's life, however, that I like to glean bits and pieces of his experience.

Peter Marks, the theater critic of The Washington Post, gave the play a rave, describing it as "illuminating ... with barrels of charm." A Fiasco production in New York, "Cymbeline," earned kudos from Ben Brantley of The New York Times. "Cymbeline" will be presented at the Folger at the end of May in a brief run.

It all makes for an apt celebration at the Folger, which gladdens the heart to see inventive young actors do so well in Will's world. They see it anew.

To find out more about Jamie Stiehm, and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.