Delacorte Theater
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (June 2009) |
 The theater in 2021 | |
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| Address | Central Park Manhattan, New York United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°46′48.36″N 73°58′7.56″W / 40.7801000°N 73.9687667°WCoordinates: 40°46′48.36″N 73°58′7.56″W / 40.7801000°N 73.9687667°W |
| Owner | City of New York |
| Operator | Public Theater |
| Capacity | 1,800 |
| Opened | June 18, 1962[1] |
| Tenants | |
| Shakespeare in the Park | |
The Delacorte Theater is a 1,800-seat open-air theater in Central Park, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is home to the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park productions.
Over five million people have attended more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals at the Delacorte Theater since its opening in 1962.[2]
History[edit]
The theater is named in honor of Valerie and George T. Delacorte Jr., who donated money for its establishment, after several seasons presented by Joseph Papp's Shakespeare Workshop (founded in 1954) had been touring New York's boroughs on temporary staging and had proved the venture worthwhile. Papp had started seeking funds in 1958 for a permanent outdoor amphitheater in Central Park, under the aegis of Helen Hayes. Papp believed theater was essential for all to experience, and that it should be free for all. These conceits, and Papp's personal drive and determination, are what propelled Shakespeare in the Park into becoming one of New York City's most treasured and beloved traditions.
The first production, in 1962, was The Merchant of Venice starring George C. Scott and James Earl Jones.[3]
Notable recent productions include Amy Adams, Denis O'Hare and Donna Murphy in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, Lily Rabe in As You Like It, Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice, Anne Hathaway and Audra McDonald in Twelfth Night, and the 2008 revival of HAIR.
The Public is known for casting both seasoned talent and for providing exposure for up and coming actors in Park productions, including Billy Crudup, Morgan Freeman, Marcia Gay Harden, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeff Goldblum, Liev Schreiber, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Walken and Denzel Washington, not to mention dozens of directors and designers.
In 2010, Shakespeare in the Park featured repertory casting for the first time in decades. Two shows, The Merchant of Venice and The Winter's Tale, ran on an alternating basis over the course of the series and featured largely the same cast. The trend continued in the 2011 season.
The 2011 season, featured All's Well That Ends Well, directed by Daniel Sullivan, and Measure for Measure, directed by David Esbjornson, running in repertory on alternate evenings.[4] The repertory cast featured John Cullum, Danai Gurira, Michael Hayden, Annie Parisse, Tonya Pinkins, Lorenzo Pisoni and Reg Rogers.
The 2012 season celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Delacorte Theater, featuring Lily Rabe and Oliver Platt in Shakespeare's As You Like It directed by Daniel Sullivan and Amy Adams and Donna Murphy in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, a transfer of an outdoor production done in Regent's Park in London in 2010.
The season also featured a one-night only reading of Romeo and Juliet starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in the two lead roles, supported by Phylicia Rashad, Sam Waterston, Sandra Oh, Bill Irwin, Christine Baranski, John Cullum, Raúl Esparza, Jesse L. Martin, Jerry Stiller, Christopher Walken, David Harbour, and others.
The Public's 2013 season began with The Comedy of Errors, directed by Dan Sullivan and featuring Shakespeare in the Park alumni Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Dromio and Hamish Linklater as Antipholus. Ferguson and Linklater last performed together in The Winter's Tale and The Merchant of Venice in 2010 for The Public's Shakespeare in the Park.
The second show of the 2013 season was a new musical adaptation of Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost, directed by Alex Timbers with songs by Michael Friedman, and book adaptation by Alex Timbers. Timbers and Friedman last collaborated on the award-winning musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at The Public and Timbers directed the new David Byrne musical Here Lies Love that spring at The Public's downtown home at Astor Place.[5]
2014 featured Hamish Linklater, Lily Rabe and John Lithgow all in starring roles. Linklater and Rabe took on the witty love-match of Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing while Lithgow tackled the title role in Shakespeare's King Lear.[6]
See also[edit]
- New York Shakespeare Festival (previous name of The Public Theater)
References[edit]
- ^ Gardner, Paul (June 19, 1962). "Central Park's Shakespeare Amphitheatre Dedicated". The New York Times. No. 38132. p. 28.
- ^ "Public Theater - Home". www.publictheater.org. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ Central Park Conservancy. Retrieved July 21, 2013.
- ^ Healy, Patrick (March 28, 2011). "Repertory Casting Returns for Shakespeare in the Park". Arts Beat (blog of The New York Times). Retrieved October 8, 2012.
- ^ Itzkoff, Dave. "'Comedy of Errors' and Musical 'Love's Labour's Lost' on Shakespeare in the Park's Bill". nytimes.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
- ^ Kozinn, Allan. "Shakespeare in the Park Lineup: 'Much Ado About Nothing' and 'King Lear'". nytimes.com. Retrieved March 18, 2018.
External links[edit]
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