Complete casting has been announced for the 2010 season of the Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park. As previously announced, the company will present two classics in repertory this summer: The Winter’s Tale, directed by Michael Greif, and The Merchant of Venice, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Performances begin June 9 and run in rep through August 1 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. As always, tickets are free and distributed on the day of the performance.
Joining previously announced stars Al Pacino, Jesse L. Martin, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Lily Rabe, Max Wright, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Gary Bamman, Francois Battiste, Linda Emond, Bill Heck, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Byron Jennings, Heather Lind, Hammish Linklater, Nyambi Nyambi, Matthew Rauch and Richard Topol are non-Equity ensemble players Happy Anderson, Liza J. Bennett, Tyler Caffall, Cary Donaldson, Luke Forbes, Bryce Gill, Shalita Grant, Jade Hawk, Bethany Neinrich, Tia James, Kelsey Kurz, Brian Macdonald, Alexander Maier, Dorien Makhloghi and Joe Short.
Shakespeare in the Park 2010 is not the Public Theater’s first foray into rotating repertory. Henry IV, Parts One and Two were performed in rep in the Newman Theater in 1991, and 20 years earlier, the Henry VI plays and Richard III were condensed into The War of the Roses, which was presented in rep and then performed in one all-night marathon in Central Park.