History
The theater is named in honor of George T. Delacorte, Jr., who donated money for its establishment, after several seasons presented by Joseph Papp's Shakespeare Workshop (founded in 1954) had been touring New York's boroughs on temporary staging and had proved the venture worthwhile. Papp had started seeking funds in 1958 for a permanent outdoor amphitheater in Central Park, under the aegis of Helen Hayes, but was opposed from the outset by Robert Moses. Papp believed theater was essential for all to experience, and that it should be free for all. These conceits, and Papp's personal drive and determination, are what propelled Shakespeare in the Park into becoming one of New York City's most treasured and beloved traditions.
Notable recent productions include Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in 2001 which featured Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, and John Goodman; Twelfth Night in 2009 with Anne Hathaway, Raul Esparza and Audra McDonald.
In recent years, two productions from Shakespeare in the Park moved from the Delacorte to Broadway within a season: the 2008 revival of Hair and the acclaimed production of The Merchant of Venice, featuring acclaimed performances from Al Pacino as Shylock and Lily Rabe as Portia. Each production garnered numerous Tony Award nominations, and Hair received the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical in 2009.
The Public is known for casting both seasoned talent and for providing exposure for up and coming actors in Park productions, including Billy Crudup, Morgan Freeman, Marcia Gay Harden, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jeff Goldblum, Liev Schreiber, Patrick Stewart, Christopher Walken and Denzel Washington, not to mention dozens of directors and designers.
In 2010, Shakespeare in the Park featured repertory casting for the first time in decades. Two shows, The Merchant of Venice and The Winter's Tale, ran on an alternating basis over the course of the series and featured largely the same cast. The trend continued in the 2011 season.
The 2011 season, running from June 6 through July 30, presented All's Well That Ends Well, directed by Daniel Sullivan, and Measure for Measure, directed by David Esbjornson, running in repertory on alternate evenings. The repertory cast featured John Cullum, Danai Gurira, Michael Hayden, Annie Parisse, Tonya Pinkins, Lorenzo Pisoni and Reg Rogers.
The 2012 season, the theater's 50th anniversary season, featured Lily Rabe and Oliver Platt in Shakespeare's As You Like It directed by Daniel Sullivan and Amy Adams and Donna Murphy in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods, a transfer of an outdoor production done in Regent's Park in London in 2010. The season also featured a one-night only reading of Romeo and Juliet starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline in the two lead roles, supported by Phylicia Rashād, Sam Waterston, Sandra Oh, Bill Irwin, Christine Baranski, John Cullum, Raúl Esparza, Jesse L. Martin, Jerry Stiller, Christopher Walken and others.
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