History

Having seen TDC's Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, in 2014 BPC invited TDC to offer FREE Shakespeare in Bryant Park. Our inaugural production in 2014 was HAMLET. That collaboration has led to five years later to 13 FREE productions, attracting @120,000 patrons. 

Shows are not ticketed nor are reservations required. 

There are innumerable chairs available and the lawn provides attractive space for picnicking while watching performances. As a highly traveled, urban crossroads, the park offers a unique "melting pot" in which to perform. Like Shakespeare in the Parking Lot, as the energy of Shakespearean text is juxtaposed against the backdrop of a city in motion, audience members experience an innovative use of a familiar, well-traveled urban space. 

The classical architecture of the NY Public Library and the large lawn, reveal a theatre hidden in plain sight on the wide terrace, offering parapets and stairs as natural locations for heightened theatrical moments. 

2014

Hamlet

2015

Two Gentlemen of Verona

Romeo and Juliet

The Taming of the Shrew

2016

Much Ado About Nothing

As You Like It 

Measure for Measure

2017

The Merry Wives of Windsor

Twelfth Night

The Tempest

2018

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Twelfth Night 

MacBeth

2019

Hamlet

Othello