Kenny Leon (A Raisin in the Sun), who directed an African-American cast in Shakespeare in the Park's delightful 2019 production of Much Ado About Nothing, gives a Black spin to the Bard's classic revenge tragedy, where a ghost and a prince meet and everyone ends in mincemeat. Ato Blankson-Wood (Slave Play) stars as the brooding title character, joined by a cast that includes John Douglas Thompson, Solea Pfeiffer and Lorraine Toussaint. Tickets are, as always, free; see our complete guide to Shakespeare in the Park tickets for details.
Public spaces come alive with free outdoor theater in New York City in the summer, and especially with the plays of William Shakespeare. The top destination, of course, is the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, where the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park presents excellent productions that among New York's best things to do in the summer. But you can also enjoy plays by Shakespeare and other classical masters elsewhere in the city: in Harlem, Brooklyn, at Riverside Park, even in a Lower East Side parking lot. You might be surprised by the magic that can come from wonderful words, inventive actors and a mild summer breeze.
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