Lloyd, who was behind the recent all-female staging of Henry IV at St. Ann's Warehouse, will direct Jumbo as Katherina and Tony winner McTeer as Petruchio in the re-imagined staging. Performances will begin May 24, continuing through June 26.
The second Shakespeare production to be presented at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park will be Troilus and Cressida, directed by Tony winner Daniel Sullivan, scheduled to begin July 19, running through Aug. 14. This will be followed by a Public Works staging of Twelfth Night, conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, with music and lyrics by Taub and direction by Kwei-Armah. The musical adaptation will be presented for free in September.
Downtown at the Public's mainstage at Astor Place, a mobile production of Romeo and Juliet, helmed by Lear deBessonet, will play April 11-May 1 following a free tour of the five boroughs. Additional casting for all shows will be announced at a later date.
The slate of productions are in celebration of the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death, along with Public artistic director Oskar Eustis’ 10th Anniversary season. The theatre's June 6 gala will also be in honor of both events.
"Four hundred years after Shakespeare’s death, he continues to be central to our understanding of ourselves," said artistic director Eustis in a statement. "Phyllida Lloyd’s all-female version of The Taming of the Shrew and Dan Sullivan’s modern take on Shakespeare’s tale of perpetual war, Troilus and Cressida, are this summer’s blazing contributions to our ongoing dialogue with the greatest writer in the English language." As Shakespeare in the Park kicks off in spring, The Public will also partner with the New-York Historical Society and 92nd Street Y to present "First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare." Published in 1623, it contains the first published scripts of 36 of Shakespeare’s most famous plays, including Hamlet, Macbeth and As You Like It. "The First Folio" will be on display, along with a series of events and conversations, at the New-York Historical Society for six weeks for free, beginning June 7.
Tickets to The Public Theater’s free Shakespeare in the Park are distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on the day of the show. The Public Theater will again offer free tickets through their virtual ticketing lottery on the day of the show at publictheater.org.
