Marines’ Memorial Theatre

Given but a single suggestion, five members of its rotating cast can create and act out a full-length Shakespearean play on the spot.

The date was 1963, less than a year before Lewis’s death, and the setting was comfortably simplistic: a bookshelf, a desk, a side table set for teatime and one rigid armchair.

Wilmore’s presence was refreshing — his brand of comedy was well-matched for the moments when Lewis veered into uncomfortable territory.