Getting tickets to Shakespeare in the Park can be a journey. Because every ticket is free, it means that hopeful attendees have to line up at Central Park starting at dawn to get tickets (or try their luck with a digital lottery). Luckily, PBS is here to help. The network has announced that the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night will be broadcast this fall November 14, beginning at 9 PM ET. The program will be broadcast as part of PBS' Tony Award-winning Great Performances series.
Twelfth Night will also be available to stream on PBS.org or the PBS app. This production of Shakespeare's classic is a starry one. The cast includes Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lupita Nyong'o, Sandra Oh, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Junior Nyong'o, b, Khris Davis, John Ellison Conlee, Ariyan Kassam, Valentino Musumeci, Moses Sumney, Kapil Talwalker, and Joe Tapper.
The ensemble includes Dario Alvarez, Jaina Rose Jallow, Precious Omigie, Chinna Palmer, Nathan M. Ramsey, Jasmine Sharma, Julian Tushabe, Adrian Villegas, Ada Westfall, and Mia Wurgaft.
READ: How PBS Captures Broadway Shows for Great Performances
Saheem Ali, who has also cut down the play to 90 minutes, will direct. The show will run at the newly renovated Delacorte Theater August 7–September 14. It will be the first production at the Delacorte following the theatre closing for the last two years to undergo an almost $80-million renovation.
For those who want to attend Twelfth Night in person, tickets will be distributed in Central Park for that day's performances, as well as at the Public Theater and designated spots across NYC's five boroughs. There will also be a digital lottery via TodayTix. Learn more here.
PBS also announced other programming for the fall. It will air the documentaries The Magic of Grace Bumbry October 3 and Tiler Peck: Suspending Time November 7. Then on November 11, it will air the Carnegie Hall concert The Great War and The Great Gatsby. December 12 will see the tribute Starring Dick Van Dyke, featuring never-before-seen footage from the legendary performer's career. On December 16, in time for the holiday season, PBS will air English National Ballet's production of Nutcracker.
All of these titles will be streamable via PBS.org.
PBS is currently in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration. President Trump signed an executive order in May calling for PBS and NPR to be defunded—federal funding accounts for 15 percent of PBS’ annual budget, the rest is raised through donations. The House has approved Trump’s request to take back $1.1 million that had been previously allocated to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. That request is now being taken up by the Senate. If approved, it will greatly impact PBS’ ability to bring its programming to rural parts of the U.S. The network is currently encouraging supporters to contact their senators.
