“Henry IV, Part 1” by William Shakespeare: The title sounds so serious, so forbidding. Yet the play, which is part of Shakespeare’s Falstaff trilogy, combines a lot of very sobering talk and action around statesmanship and strife with a hefty helping of hilarity.

And in Key City Public Theatre’s (KCPT) trimmed and updated production – the dialogue is trimmed, not Sir John Falstaff’s girth – the balance between serious and silly (and sober and soused) makes for such a joy-filled, contemplation-worthy two-plus hours of theater, that it is guaranteed to become August’s “can you squeeze in one more chair?” hit.

The hits in “Henry IV” come in many forms: Some are to the body, and others to the belly. Arming them all is Shakespeare’s ever-astounding dialogue. For those unfamiliar with the Bard’s facility with words, imagine, if the image is not already too dated, a stage filled with five different incarnations of the late Robin Williams firing off comedic quips and dramatic quotes nonstop. That is how overwhelming Shakespeare’s nonstop brilliance can be.

In the mouths of self-conscious actors, Shakespeare’s dialogue can come across as stilted, even calculated. Thankfully, one of the supreme strengths of KCPT’s annual installment of Shakespeare in the Park is how natural the play’s antiquated English sounds. Thanks to Duncan Frost’s insightful direction and unerring sense of pace, even the most complex, tongue-twisting passages roll off the lips of the show’s principals with ease. It’s a dazzling display of ability and confidence whose level of inspiration constantly confounds.

As for “updated,” consider the fact that the wayward son of King Henry IV (the excellent David Natale), aka Prince Hal, has been transformed into a young woman (Emily Huntingford). Carousing lustily before pulling herself together and transforming in battle her appearance and actions, which might have seemed foreign to our parents and grandparents, seem totally natural. This Port Townsend native, currently a theater major at Whitman College, is already realizing her great potential, and is equipped to go farther in the years ahead.

King Henry IV’s nemesis, Percy/Hotspur, receives an ultra-intense treatment from another KCPT veteran, Anthony Lee Phillips. Phillips virtually spits out his lines with such vehemence and passion that he leaves no question as to the hot-headed Percy’s road to ruin.

The character who seems to weave in and out of virtually every scene, and miraculously holds together what some have likened to a family soap opera of hurt and healing, is the redoubtable Sir John Falstaff (Lawrason Driscoll). Driscoll makes this sometimes blubbering, yet confoundingly articulate liar into a grand personage so lovable that no matter what he does, it’s hard not to forgive him.

Anyone who has seen Marrowstone resident Driscoll in other shows around town – this is my third exposure to his artistry, and I expect I’ve missed a number of other opportunities in my three years in PT – knows how smart he is. Beyond his fierce intelligence and wily wit lies a virtually unbridled joy in the act of theatrical creation. In the presence of so many other gifted principals, Lawrason’s gifts seem multiplied exponentially.

The combined skills of the principals are such that the fact that a good 30 percent of Shakespeare’s dialogue and a few of his characters have been cut for this production will, for those who are not wedded to the Bard’s every word, matter not. What will matter instead is just how good what we’ve got is.

Many of the secondary roles are filled by actors of equal enthusiasm. Dylan Carter (Vernon, Poins), Sam Cavallaro (Bardolph, Sir Walter Blunt), Tom Challinor (Worcester) and Brace Evans (as the straightest Northumberland and, once he’s offstage, the most endearingly dumb Peto you’re likely to see) are special standouts. Evans drew the first of many rounds of cheers during the bows, and for good reason. Young Caleb Lumbard (Douglas) and Sharon Wenzler (Glendower, Traveler) also drew gratitude for their gifts.

Lest it seem I’ve lost all touch with reality (although what constitutes reality in the Era of Trump is far less accessible than Shakespeare’s most confounding sentences), this is, after all, a production that mixes professional actors with volunteers and apprentices. Some of the sweetest cast members are in elementary school, some are just out of high school, and yet others are folks whose devotion to the stage outweighs other concerns. Not everyone has their eyes set on Broadway.

What’s most outstanding about KCPT’s “Henry IV, Part 1” is that none of that matters. This show almost always transcends that damned “taking into account that it’s small-town theater” apology, and stands strong as a thoroughly enjoyable, professional production. A solid four stars, with another undoubtedly hovering in the sky, and liable to fall as the eclipse nears. Those who resist, resist joy.

Jason Victor Serinus is a professional music and audio critic whose work also appears in The Seattle Times, Stereophile and Classical Voice North America and others.