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