Junior Nyong'o Will Star Opposite Real-Life Sister Lupita Nyong'o in Free Shakespeare in the Park Twelfth Night | Playbill

Off-Broadway News Junior Nyong'o Will Star Opposite Real-Life Sister Lupita Nyong'o in Free Shakespeare in the Park Twelfth Night

The outdoor summer theatre institution returns this summer following a 2024 hiatus with a starry cast.

Lupita Nyong'o and Junior Nyong'o

More casting has been revealed for the upcoming triumphant return of The Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park series, on hiatus since 2023 as Central Park's Delacorte Theater underwent extensive renovations. As previously announced, Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Sandra Oh will lead a new staging of Twelfth Night, directed by Saheem Ali.

And, more starry names have been added to that cast list. Notably, Junior Nyong'o, a recent graduate of University of California San Diego's MFA program and sister to Lupita Nyong'o, will star opposite his sister, playing twin brother Sebastian to her Viola. Also joining the cast are b as Antonio, Bill Camp as Sir Toby Belch, Khris Davis as Orsino, Daphne Rubin-Vega as Maria, and Moses Sumney as Feste. Dinklage is playing Malvolio, with Ferguson as Andrew Aguecheek, and Oh as Olivia.

Also newly announced is when the production will perform. Previews will begin August 7 ahead of an August 21 opening night, with performances continuing through September 14. The production will be Free Shakespeare in the Park's sole 2025 offering due to the Delacorte's renovation timeline. The theatre's Mobile Unit will present Much Ado About Nothing at various venues across all five boroughs beginning in June, and a Public Works production of Pericles, with music and lyrics by Troy Anthony, will perform at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine August 28–September 1.

The Delacorte Theater began renovations following the summer 2023 Free Shakespeare in the Park season, remaining dark this past year so that work could continue. The newly refurbished venue—a partnership between The Public, Central Park Conservancy, and the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation—will increase its accessibility, streamline backstage operations, add a revitalized exterior and lighting improvements, provide newly renovated bathrooms, and more.

Junior Nyong'o performed in a pre-Broadway workshop of The Outsiders at La Jolla Playhouse while still a student at UCSD, and also starred as B in Sanctuary City at Seattle Rep, Asagai in A Raisin in the Sun at South Coast Repertory, Edgar in King Lear at Santa Cruz Shakespeare, and Don Fernando in Valor at Guthrie Theater.

This upcoming Twelfth Night will be the seventh time the romantic comedy has been presented in the series, following earlier stagings in 1969, 1986, 1989, 2002, and 2009, plus a Public Works musical adaptation (by Kwame Kwei-Armah and 2024 Tony winner Shaina Taub) in 2018.

Since its inception in 1954, the Free Shakespeare in the Park series has been an annual summer offering completely free to the public, with tickets usually distributed at various locations throughout the boroughs of NYC. The program often recruits A-list actors to lead its outdoor productions, which focus on the Shakespeare canon but have also included stagings of such works as Into the Woods, Hercules, and Hair. In past productions of Twelfth Night alone, the series has seen performances from Jeff Goldblum, Anne Hathaway, Nikki M. James, Hamish Linklater, Audra McDonald, Michelle Pfeiffer, Fisher Stevens, Julia Stiles, Michael Stuhlbarg, and more.

Free tickets will be distributed daily at the Delacorte Theater and at borough distribution sites, along with an in-person lottery at The Public's 425 Lafayette Street lobby and a digital lottery. A full schedule and more ticketing information is at PublicTheater.org.

 
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