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.
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CitiTourNY (Brian Scott Lipton)
New York Stage Review (Melissa Rose Bernardo)
New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)
New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz)
The New York Times (Alexis Soloski)*
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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 cast is also joined by two rotating ensembles of community members from all five boroughs.
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.
Darius de Haas, Shaina Taub, Naomi Pierre, and company of As You Like It
Idania Quezada, Renrick Palmer, and Rebecca Naomi Jones in As You Like It
Bianca Edwards, Rebecca Naomi Jones, Idania Quezada, and Brianna Cabrera in As You Like It
Rebecca Naomi Jones, Eric Pierre, and company of As You Like It
Darius de Haas and company of As You Like It
Darius de Haas and company of As You Like It
Shaina Taub in As You Like It
Ato Blankson-Wood and company of As You Like It
Darius de Haas and company of As You Like It
Rebecca Naomi Jones in As You Like It
Ato Blankson-Wood and company of As You Like It
The company of As You Like It
Fatemata Krubally, Christopher M. Ramirez, and Almostafa "Mustafa" Elnoor in As You Like It
