The Public's Free Shakespeare in the Park production of As You Like It, a musical adaptation of Shakespeare's comedy by Shaina Taub and Laurie Woolery, officially opens August 30. The run, which began August 10 at Central Park's Delacorte Theater, is set to continue through September 11. Woolery directs the Public Works event.
In the Shakespeare comedy, the exiled Orlando, Duke Senior, his daughter Rosalind, and niece Celia find a welcoming community filled with love in the Forest of Arden.
The adaptation premiered for a five-night run in the 2017 Public Works program. It was scheduled to return for the summer season in 2020, but postponed due to the pandemic. Similar to the Public Works production, the summer staging features two rotating ensembles of 127 New Yorkers from all five boroughs.
The cast includes Damion Allen as William, Tristan André as De Boys/Attendant, Ato Blankson-Wood as Orlando, Lori Brown-Niang as Agent/Puppet-deer, Brianna Cabrera as Silvia, Darius de Haas as Duke Senior, Bianca Edwards as Phoebe, Pierre Harmony Graves as De Boys/Arden Dancer/Young Orlando Dad, Rebecca Naomi Jones as Rosalind, Jonathan Jordan as Andy, Bobby Moody as De Boys/Arden Dancer, Renrick Palmer as Oliver, Eric Pierre as Duke Frederick, Idania Quezada as Celia, Christopher M. Ramirez as Touchstone, Edwin Rivera as De Boys/Attendant, and Shaina Taub as Jaques. De Haas, Perez, and Taub are all reprising their roles from the 2017 Public Works production.
Serving as understudies and standbys are Amar Atkins, Sean-Michael Bruno, Danyel Fulton, Emily Gardner Xu Hall, Trevor McGhie, Mike Millán, Kevin Tate, and Claudia Yanez.
The creative team also features scenic designer Myung Hee Cho; costume designer Emilio Sosa; lighting designer Isabella Byrd; sound designer Sun Hee Kil; hair, wig, and makeup designer Leah Loukas; and puppet designer James Ortiz. Original choreography is by Sonya Tayeh, with choreography restaging and additional choreography by Billy Griffin. Prop management is by Corinne Gologursky, with Delacorte 2022 sound system design by Daniel Lundberg, orchestrations by Mike Brun, music direction by Andrea Grody, music coordination by Dean Sharenow, and fight direction by Lisa Kopitsky. Kristen Gibbs serves as production stage manager, joined by Anaïs Bustos and Jessie Moore as stage managers.
For more information on how to access free tickets, visit PublicTheater.org.
Kyle Beltran and Sarah Steele at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Margaret Odette at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Kyle Scatliffe at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Wendell Pierce at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Daphne Rubin-Vega at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Tom Kitt and Bryonn Bain at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Billy Griffin and Khori Michelle Petinaud at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Grace McLean and Christopher Ryan Grant at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Lorraine Toussaint at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Jessica Vosk at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Christina Sajous at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Grantham Coleman at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Emily Gardner Xu Hall and Casey Kendall at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Toussaint and Francois Battiste at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Kristine Nielsen and Brent Langdon at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
David Henry Hwang at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Judy Kuhn and Jay O. Sanders at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Arian Moayed and Krissy Shields at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Chalia La Tour at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Irene Sofia Lucio at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Bonnie Milligan at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Donna Murphy at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Pascale Armand and Stacey Sargeant at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Michael Esper at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Kimber Elayne Sprawl at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Holly Gould at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Eddie Cooper at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Mona Mansour at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Vanessa Ray at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Director and Adapter Laurie Woolery at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
Heather Lind and Amber Gray at the Opening Night of The Public’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Public Works’ As You Like It
