A young classical actor, burning bright in Washington

In college, Zach Appelman heard voices. And they convinced him that he was on the right track. They came to him through speakers and ear buds: the honeyed sounds of great Shakespeareans, actors such as Lawrence Olivier and John Gielgud, reciting — sometimes singing, in that master-thespian manner — the poetry of “Hamlet” or “Macbeth.” They imparted to an eager young acting student at a library carrel an understanding of the legacy of a great oratorical tradi...