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The company of the Free Shakespeare in the Park production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by Joan Marcus.

FREE SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK

The Delacorte Theater

YOUR 60TH ANNIVERSARY SEASON. 

We are proud to announce a special summer celebrating 60 years — and more than 150 productions — of Free Shakespeare in the Park at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park.

The beloved summer tradition returns with the intriguing political drama RICHARD III, directed by Tony nominee Robert O’Hara and featuring Danai Gurira in the title role.

Adapted by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery, Public Works' joyful, community enriched, musical adaptation of AS YOU LIKE IT returns this summer. This heartwarming musical will close out our celebratory season, and features music and lyrics by Shaina Taub, choreography by Sonya Tayeh, and direction by Laurie Woolery.

SHOWS.

RICHARD III

Directed by Robert O’Hara
Featuring Danai Gurira in the Title Role

Tony Award nominee
Robert O’Hara (Slave Play, The Public’s Barbecue) brings his sharp wit and story-telling genius to The Delacorte with a bold new production of RICHARD III. One of Shakespeare’s most indelible villains, Richard is determined to be King. Following his lust for power and the throne, he manipulates, kidnaps, and kills all who stand between him and his throne, using brilliant words and dark charm to conceal his dismantling of government and justice. This masterful dive into the muddy middle between political genius and violent power grab will open Free Shakespeare in the Park’s 60th Season with piercing relevancy and electrifying drama.


AS YOU LIKE IT

Adapted by Shaina Taub & Laurie Woolery
Music & Lyrics by Shaina Taub
Original Choreography by Sonya Tayeh
Directed by Laurie Woolery

To complete this anniversary season, Public Works’ acclaimed musical production of AS YOU LIKE IT returns to Central Park, bringing together its diverse ensemble of both professional actors and community members from across New York. Adapted by Shaina Taub and Director of Public Works Laurie Woolery, featuring music and lyrics by Taub, this ambitious work of participatory theater has been hailed as “thrilling & terrifically vital” by The New York Times. Forced from their homes, Orlando, Duke Senior, his daughter Rosalind, and niece Celia are banished to the Forest of Arden. There, they discover a community of acceptance and transformational love, where all are welcomed and embraced. Laurie Woolery directs this magical adaptation of a beloved classic. Join for Free Shakespeare in the Park’s 60th birthday party, celebrating six decades of free Shakespeare for all New Yorkers, and toasting the many decades to come!  


FREE TICKET DISTRIBUTION.

We are excited to announce our planned return to in-person distributions for free tickets this summer, and the return of TodayTix as our official digital lottery provider for Free Shakespeare in the Park.

MAKE A GIFT & RESERVE A SEAT.

Want to reserve your seat to New York’s favorite summer tradition when booking opens? Become a Supporter Plus with a gift of $300 or more and you’ll have access to reserved seating at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park. You’ll also be contributing to a 60-year legacy of providing millions of free tickets to New Yorkers.

*Please note, reserved seating for a donation is limited in order to continue to keep the majority of tickets to Free Shakespeare in the Park accessible to all.

SUPPORT.

Make a gift today to celebrate the 60th year of Free Shakespeare in the Park.

REVITALIZING THE DELACORTE THEATER.

Delacorte Theater Revitalization

Delacorte Theater Revitalization

LEARN MORE

RICHARD III CREATIVE.

Image of Robert O’Hara

Robert O’Hara

RICHARD III Director

is the Tony-nominated director of Slave Play and is currently working on several film, television, and theater projects. He’s a two-time Obie Award and two-time NAACP Award Winner whose work has been seen around the country. Among his recent and upcoming projects are writing Camp for Warner Bros, to be directed by Billy Porter; directing Long Day's Journey Into Night at Audible/Minetta Lane Theater; and directing the revival of Anthony Davis’ opera, X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X in a co-pro of the MET, Michigan, Omaha, and Seattle Opera. SDC, WGA, DGA, AGMA. 

Image of Danai Gurira

Danai Gurira

Richard III

is an award-winning playwright and actress born in Iowa to Zimbabwean parents and raised in Zimbabwe. As an actor Gurira starred as General Okoye in Marvel’s Academy Award-winning blockbuster film Black Panther (People’s Choice Award, NAACP Image Award, SAG Award: Outstanding Performance by a Cast/Motion Picture). She reprised her role in Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. She also  starred as ‘Michonne’ on AMC’s “The Walking Dead” for seven seasons. Some other acting credits include Mother of George, The Visitor, Shakespeare in the Park’s production of Measure for Measure (Equity Callaway Award) and Broadway’s revival of Joe Turner’s Come and Gone. Playwright credits include In the Continuum (Obie Award, Outer Critics Award, Helen Hayes Award), Eclipsed (Tony nomination: Best Play, NAACP Award, Helen Hayes Award: Best New Play, Connecticut Critics Circle Award: Outstanding Production of a Play), The Convert (six Ovation Awards, L.A. Outer Critics Award), and Familiar (Sam Norkin Award). An ambassador for Bono’s ONE campaign, she is co-founder of Almasi Arts Alliance, founder of Love Our Girls, and a Goodwill Ambassador for UN Women. MFA: Tisch Grad Acting, NYU. Twitter/Instagram: @DanaiGurira

AS YOU LIKE IT CREATIVE.

Image of Shaina Taub

Shaina Taub

AS YOU LIKE IT Adapter and Music & Lyrics/Jaques

is an Emmy and Drama Desk-nominated songwriter and performer. She is a winner of the Kleban Prize, the Fred Ebb Award, and the Jonathan Larson Grant. Her original musical Suffs will have its world premiere at The Public Theater this year. She is a signed artist with Atlantic Records, and her third album, Songs of the Great Hill, will be out this spring. She’s an artist-in-residence at The Public Theater, where she has a regular concert residency at Joe’s Pub. She's currently writing lyrics for the upcoming Broadway musical The Devil Wears Prada, with music by Sir Elton John. She created and starred in musical adaptations of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and As You Like It that were commissioned and produced by The Public Theater at The Delacorte in Central Park as part of their groundbreaking community-based program, Public Works. Those adaptations have now been produced in London, Seattle, Dallas, and beyond. 

Image of Laurie Woolery

Laurie Woolery

AS YOU LIKE IT Adapter and Director

is a director, playwright, community activist, and citizen artist who works in theaters across the country, including The Public Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Yale Repertory, Trinity Repertory, Goodman Theatre, Cornerstone Theater Company, and South Coast Repertory. Projects include the world premiere of Mary Kathryn Nagle’s Manahatta at both Yale Repertory and Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the world premiere musical of As You Like It, co-created with Shaina Taub for The Public Theater. In 2020, Woolery produced the documentary Under The Greenwood Tree that tells the story of how the Public Works community banded together amidst the global pandemic and anti-racist uprising, as well as curating the national community public art installation The Seed Project on the façade of The Public Theater, featuring 164 Public Works community members sharing their hopes for the future. Woolery has developed new work with diverse communities ranging from incarcerated women to residents of a Kansas town devastated by a tornado. She creates site-specific work ranging from a working sawmill in Eureka to the banks of the Los Angeles River. Woolery is the Director of Public Works at The Public Theater, a program that seeks to engage the people of New York by making them creators and not just spectators. Working with partner organizations in all 5 boroughs, Public Works invites members of diverse communities to join in the creation of ambitious works of participatory theater. Woolery is the former Associate Artistic Director of Cornerstone Theater Company and Conservatory Director at South Coast Repertory. Woolery is a founding member of The Sol Project, 2020 United States Artist recipient, and 2021 American for the Arts Johnson Fellow

Image of Sonya Tayeh

Sonya Tayeh

AS YOU LIKE IT Original Choreography

is an Tony award-winning choreographer currently represented on Broadway with Moulin Rouge! The Musical. Selected credits include “Rent: Live” (Fox), The Lucky Ones (Ars Nova), Face the Torrent for Malpaso Dance Co, American Ballet Theatre, You’ll Still Call Me By Name (commissioned by Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival and New York Live Arts), Martha Graham Dance Company’s Lamentation Variation series and Canticle remount (The Joyce/Tour), Hundred Days (The Public’s Under the Radar Festival and NYTW), and Kung Fu (Signature Theatre). Her accolades include two Lortels, an Obie, two Emmy noms, and 2 Drama Desk Awards. Tayeh has directed and choreographed for world-renowned musical artists such as Madonna, Florence and the Machine, and Miley Cyrus. www.sonyatayeh.com.

Image of Darius De Haas

Darius De Haas

Duke Senior

Broadway credits include Kiss of the Spider Woman, Carousel, Rent, The Gershwin’s Fascinating Rhythm, Marie Christine, and Shuffle Along. Other notable theater includes The Waves in Quarantine, Running Man (Obie Award), The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, and Children of Eden. TV credits include “Dietland,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (the singing voice of “Shy Baldwin”), and “In The Life.” As a musical artist, among de Haas’ credits are The Lincoln Center American Songbook, Duke Ellington Sacred Concert with Los Angeles Master Chorale, Carnegie Hall, and many orchestras including the National Symphony, Cincinnati Pops, and Boston Pops. His recordings include Day Dream: Variations on Strayhorn, Quiet Please (with Steven Blier), and many Original Cast Recordings. de Haas is proud to be on the Board of Directors for Covenant House and a founding member of Black Theatre United. Please visit www.dariusdehaas.com

Image of Joel Perez

Joel Perez

Touchstone

His theater work includes Fun Home (Broadway), Kiss My Aztec! (La Jolla Playhouse), and Sweet Charity (New Group; Lortel Award). He can be seen on screen in tick, tick… Boom! (Netflix), “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” (NBC), and “Odd Mom Out” (Bravo). His writing includes The Black Beans Project (Huntington Theatre) and Playing With Myself (Ars Nova). He is a WarnerMedia 150 Artist for his pilot You’re Tired, You’re Poor. He won the 2021 Voces Latinx National Playwriting Competition for his play From the Fountain. He is a 2019 NYSCA/NYFA Artist Fellow in Playwriting. @misterjoelperez www.joelperez.com

Pictured Above: The company of the Free Shakespeare in the Park production of MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Photo by Joan Marcus.