Aside from speeding yellow taxis, dirty water dogs, and standing-room-only subway cars, you’d be hard-pressed to find anything more quintessentially New York City than Shakespeare in the Park.
Welcome to the 2018 season!
First up is Othello (May 29th through June 24th). Tony winner Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Jitney, Piano Lesson) will direct this classic drama about a noble Venetian general caught up in war, love and palace intrigue in the 17th -century Mediterranean.
Later in the summer, the stage will play host to a musical version of Twelfth Night, a comedy about a young heroine who washes up on the shores of the ancient kingdom of Illyria, disguises herself as a man, is sent to court a Countess and falls in love with a Duke! (Lots going on here, people, and it’s all hilarious.) The show runs from July 17th through August 19th and is directed by Oskar Eustis and Kwame Kwei-Armh. Music and lyrics are by critically-acclaimed songwriter Shaina Taub.
As usual, there are several ways to get free tickets:
- Most are distributed at noon each performance day at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Be aware that the lines are usually quite long, so bring snacks to keep you busy while you wait! We can guarantee you that the people-watching will make it worth your while.
- Download the TodayTix app to your phone and enter a lottery each performance day. You’ll be notified in the early afternoon if you’ve won. Plenty of time to gather together the makings of a picnic, although glassware is forbidden, so leave that bottle of rosé in your room fridge. (Wine in a box, anyone?)
- Head to the Public Theater at Astor Place at 11 a.m. to sign up for another ticket lottery that will be drawn at noon.
- And finally, on specific performance dates, a limited number of vouchers for that night’s performance will be distributed at various locations in one of our five boroughs.
- If you don’t have the patience for lines or lotteries, you can secure a seat by donating to the program, which helps to pay for the freebies and enable those not so fortunate to soak in the Bard’s work as well.
Whichever way you get them, be aware that tickets are limited to two per person.
