NewsPHOTO SPECIAL: Pacino, Streep, Kline, Portman, Freeman, Goldblum, Sheen and More! Celebrating 50+ Years of Shakespeare in the ParkJames Earl Jones, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, Morgan Freeman and Raul Julia are just a few of the stars to grace the stage of the Delacorte Theater since 1962. As the Public Theater celebrates its 52nd year at the Delacorte, we look back at the last half century of Shakespeare in the Park.
By
Matthew Blank
June 03, 2014
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See Historic Pics of Pacino, Streep, Kline, Portman, Freeman, Walken, Sheen and More in 50+ Years of Shakespeare in the Park!
See Historic Pics of Pacino, Streep, Kline, Portman, Freeman, Walken, Sheen and More in 50+ Years of Shakespeare in the Park!
James Earl Jones, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, Morgan Freeman and Raul Julia are just a few of the stars to grace the stage of the Delacorte Theater since 1962. As the Public Theater celebrates its 53nd year at the Delacorte, we look back at the last half century of Shakespeare in the Park.
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George C. Scott in The Merchant of Venice, 1962
James Earl Jones in The Merchant of Venice, 1962
Richard Jordan and Kathleen Widdoes in The Tempest, 1962
Frank Silvera in King Lear, 1962
Colleen Dewhurst and Michael Higgins in Antony and Cleopatra, 1963
Julienne Marie and James Earl Jones in Othello, 1964
Sam Waterston in Henry IV: Part II, 1968
Charlotte Rae and Martin Sheen in Romeo and Juliet, 1968
Jose Perez, Jerry Stiller, Raul Julia and Clifton Davis in Two Gentlemen of Verona, 1971
Stacy Keach and Colleen Dewhurst in Hamlet, 1972
James Earl Jones and Paul Sorvino in King Lear, 1973
Sam Waterston in Hamlet, 1975
Meryl Streep and Paul Ryan Rudd in Henry V, 1976
Sam Waterston and Meryl Streep in Measure for Measure, 1976
Jay O. Sanders and Mario Cantone in The Taming of the Shrew, 1999
Deborah Rush and Meryl Streep in The Taming of the Shrew, 1978
Raul Julia and Frances Conroy in Othello, 1979
Morgan Freeman and Gloria Foster in Coriolanus, 1979
George Rose, Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith and Kevin Kline in The Pirates of Penzance, 1980
Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater co-star as would-be lovers Beatrice and Benedick, respectively, in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing, which begins performances June 3 at the Delacorte Theater.
In addition to Rabe (The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It, "American Horror Story") and Linklater (The Merchant of Venice, Twelfth Night, Seminar), the cast of Much Ado features Tony Award winner Brian Stokes Mitchell (Don Pedro), Tony winner John Glover (Leonato), Steel Burkhardt (Balthasar), Austin Durant (Friar Francis, Sexton), David Manis (Antonio, Verges), Kathryn Meisle (Ursula), Ismenia Mendes (Hero), John Pankow (Dogberry), Pedro Pascal (Don John), Eric Sheffer Stevens (Borachio), Zoë Winters (Margaret), Matt Bittner, Alex Breaux, Paco Lozano and Matthew Russell. According to the Public, Rabe and Linklater are "wise-cracking, would-be lovers Beatrice and Benedick in the beloved romantic comedy. Central Park becomes sun-drenched Sicily at the turn of the last century, where the heat of summer ignites the fevered passions of lovesick ladies in corsets and pining gentlemen spying from the verandah. Three-time Tony winner Jack O’Brien directs this delightful skirmish of wit between two self-declared bachelors tricked by their mischief-making friends into falling in love against their will and in spite of their own hearts."
Tickets to Shakespeare in the Park are free and are distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park the day of the show. The Public Theater is again offering free tickets through its Virtual Ticketing lottery at shakespeareinthepark.org on the day of the show.
The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is accessible by entering at 81st Street and Central Park West or at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.
