In 1956, Julius Caesar came to life at the East River Amphitheater. Little did Joseph Papp – the founder and creator of Shakespeare In The Park – know that his project would lead to the creation of a staple of New York City.
The son of Jewish immigrants from Russia, Papp’s early life in New York City shaped his vision of theater as an inclusive and accessible art form. His guiding principles were rooted in the belief that theater should be a public good – accessible to all. He often casted Black and Hispanic actors in major classical roles and women in roles traditionally played by men.
One of his major achievements was producing Larry Kramer’s The Normal Heart in 1985 at The Public Theater. This groundbreaking play was one of the first major theatrical works to confront the AIDS crisis, bringing national attention to the epidemic.
Papp studied acting and directing at the Actor’s Laboratory Theater in Hollywood from 1946 to 1948, eventually becoming its managing director. By 1954, he founded the New York Shakespeare Workshop, which evolved into the New York Shakespeare Festival and, later, The Public Theater. One of the entities under the Public Theater is the Delacorte Theater.
In 1957, after producing the free performance of Julius Caesar in the summer of 1956, Papp also created the Mobile Theater – a stage built into a truck that brought theater directly to communities in the Lower East Side. This innovative approach laid the foundation for what would become Free Shakespeare in the Park.
The turning point came when Papp’s mobile stage broke down in Central Park, leading to the establishment of a more permanent venue. In 1962, the Delacorte Theater opened, inaugurating its stage with a production of The Merchant of Venice. The Delacorte Theater is an entity under the Public Theater.
Since then, there have been a wide array of productions that range from traditional interpretations to contemporary adaptations of Shakespeare’s plays. Notable performances have included Patrick Stewart in The Tempest, Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice, and Denzel Washington in Coriolanus. The theater has also featured non-Shakespearean works, such as musicals like Into the Woods and Two Gentlemen of Verona and plays such as Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, which featured Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline.
Throughout the decades, there has been only one constant about these shows: the price. Shakespeare in the Park is dedicated to offering free performances of both Shakespearean and non-Shakespearean plays to the public each summer.
However, that does not mean that tickets are easy to come by. “Some people stake out spots several hours before they begin passing out tickets,” said Anna Koontz ’25, who saw Hamlet during the summer of 2023 through Shakespeare in the Park. She continued, noting, “I actually really enjoyed waiting in line, because it’s in the middle of Central Park and the weather was so beautiful that day. My mom and I had a picnic blanket and we played card games. I think the show was definitely worth the wait.”
Recently, two summers have been skipped – 2020 because of the pandemic and 2024 due to the theater’s ongoing 18-month renovation.
Theater, as an art, was heavily affected by the pandemic. But the dynamic New York City theater industry found ways to persevere, adapting to virtual platforms to continue to bring stories to audiences.
Koontz said, “I remember my teachers told us about Bronx Science’s subscription to Drama Online, which has so many different plays that students can watch for free. I definitely took advantage of this a couple years ago when I was quarantining with COVID-19 and feeling really bored. I watched several plays – Macbeth, Hamlet, Comedy of Errors, and The Tempest.” Similarly, the Public Theater hosted virtual performances and workshops that people could attend.
Last year, while the Delacorte Theater was out of commission, winners of Shakespeare in the Park tickets were given tickets to The Comedy of Errors. Thanks to this rescheduling, major changes including increased accessibility, a new water system, and improved staging equipment were implemented at the Delacorte Theater.
New ramps at the gates run alongside the stairs – allowing wheelchair users, people with strollers, and other physically impaired people to gain entrance to the theater. Hidden away, an elevator to the tech booth has been installed for disabled stage managers, light board operators, or sound technicians. After all, theater is for everyone – whether working on or watching the show.
Surrounding the perimeter of the theater, 60-foot lighting towers stand tall. The towers take advantage of the fact that the Delacorte Theater is outside, with them being as tall (if not taller) than the trees that surround them.
In fact, the entire renovated theater is designed to blend in with the park around it. Redwood has been used to build the semi-circle enclosure of the theater. The material maintains the rustic aura of the theater while exuding a modern and clean feel.
The redwood has been resourced from decommissioned water tanks throughout the city. To further assist in this goal of conserving the environment, the Delacorte Theater’s backstage area has been refitted with a new water system to prevent flooding.
The first Free Shakespeare in the Summer show to grace the newly improved theater will be Twelfth Night from August 7th, 2025 to September 14th, 2025.
The play centers around the protagonist Viola who, after losing her brother in shipwreck, pretends to be Duke Orsino’s page Cesario. Viola/Cesario quickly gets sucked into the drama surrounding Countess Olivia, who has turned down marriage from every man who has asked – including Duke Orsino. Olivia falls in love with Viola/Cesario, which causes Sir Andrew – another one of Olivia’s suitors – to challenge Cesario to a duel. Then, surprise! Viola/Cesario’s brother Sebastian is alive and poses as Cesario to beat Sir Andrew in the fight. Olivia marries Sebastian and Viola, after revealing that she is truly a woman, marries Orsino.
The cast, recently announced, follows The Public Theater’s history of having huge and well-known names perform.
Lupita Nyong’o (Viola): Nyong’o is known for her past roles in Black Panther, 12 Years a Slave, and Us. In terms of on-stage credits, she has earned a Tony nomination for her role as “The Girl” in the play Eclipsed.
Sandra Oh (Olivia): Oh is best known for her roles in Killing Eve and Grey’s Anatomy. Most recently, she starred in the off-Broadway production of The Welkin.
Peter Dinklage (Malvolio): Dinklage is widely recognized for his performances in Game of Thrones, The Station Agent, and The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. He has previously worked with the Public Theater, portraying Richard III in Richard III.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Sir Andrew Aguecheek): Ferguson is best known for his role in Modern Family. His previous Shakespeare in the Park experience includes The Tempest, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Winter’s Tale, and The Merchant of Venice. He also won a Tony Award for his performance as Mason Marzac in the 2022 revival of Take Me Out.
Daphne Rubin-Vega (Maria): Rubin-Vega has starred in Only Murders in the Building and Hazbin Hotel. She played Daniela in In the Heights, and was nominated for Tonys for her performances as Conchita in Anna in the Tropics and Mimi Marquez in Rent (a role she also originated).
Yardena Franklin ’25, who has seen Shakespeare in the Park’s productions of Othello, Much Ado About Nothing, and Twelfth Night in 2018 said, “I loved Twelfth Night! The set was stunning.” It will be interesting to see how this production of Twelfth Night will differ from Shakespeare in the Park’s 2018 version.
The Delacorte Theater does have a history of putting different spins on traditional Shakespearean plays. “Hamlet was interesting because they put the play in a modern setting – they made it take place in the South during 2020. Some of the actors wore masks during scenes with public gatherings, and there were political campaign posters since 2020 had been an election year,” said Koontz.
No matter the interpretation, there are not many places where people can experience Shakespeare performed by high-talented actors at a high-quality theater for free. Koontz said, “it was my first time seeing Shakespeare performed live, and it really was an incredible experience.”
No matter the interpretation, there are not many places where people can experience Shakespeare performed by high-talented actors at a high-quality theater for free.