Free Shakespeare in the Park 2023

The 61st Free Shakespeare in the Park season will feature the classic drama HAMLET, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon and featuring Tony Award nominee Ato Blankson-Wood (Slave Play, Public Works’ As You Like It) in the title role. Followed by THE TEMPEST, with music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez and directed by Obie Award winner and Director of Public Works Laurie Woolery.

HAMLET
Saturday, June 8th – Sunday, August 6th
Returning once again to Free Shakespeare in the Park, director Kenny Leon commands The Delacorte stage with a nine-week, tour-de-force production of the Bard’s masterpiece, HAMLET, a riveting, contemporary present-day take on Shakespeare’s classic tale of family and betrayal, as enduring as the stars above Central Park.

THE TEMPEST
Sunday, August 27th –Sunday, September 3rd
Public Works enters its second decade by revisiting the play that launched the program, William Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST. With music and lyrics by Benjamin Velez and directed by Obie Award winner and Director of Public Works Laurie Woolery, this ambitious work of participatory theater explores the grief of being cut off from community, the desire for retribution, and the healing power of love.

Forced from their home, Prospero and her daughter Miranda have survived for 12 years among the ruins of an abandoned island. As Prospero grows closer to getting the justice she desires, she witnesses her daughter fall in love, listens to the wisdom of spirit ancestors, and discovers that sometimes forgiveness is the only way to break cycles and right the course for the next generation. Hilarious fools, magical spells, and ancestral spirits dance through this production as we all come together to celebrate what it means to be human.

Ticketing
All in-person distributions will be for free tickets this summer, as well as the return of TodayTix, the official digital lottery partner for Free Shakespeare in the Park.

• In-person distribution in Central Park
• In-person lottery at The Public Theater
• In-person distribution in the boroughs (only be available for HAMLET)
• Digital lottery with TodayTix
• In-person standby line in Central Park