Brian Bedford Joins Cast of As You Like It in Central Park

Brian Bedford will join Lynn Collins in the Public Theater staging of William Shakespeare's As You Like It in Central Park this summer. Bedford will play Jacques, one of Orlando's older brothers, in the show, according to a production spokesperson.

Bedford won a 1971 Tony Award for his performance in The School for Wives. He has subsequently been nominated for Tonys for his work in Two Shakespearean Actors, Timon of Athens, The Moliere Comedies, London Assurance and Tartuffe. His other Broadway credits include Five Finger Exercise, Lord Pengo, The Private Ear, The Cocktail Party, The Misanthrope, Private Lives, Jumpers and The School for Wives. He is acclaimed for his stage work all over the world and has spent more than two decades directing and acting at the Stratford Festival of Canada.

In As Your Like It, a duke usurps his brother's land and power, banishing him and his attendants into the forest of Arden. The banished duke's daughter, Rosalind Collins, remains with her cousin Celia. She has fallen in love with Orlando, but he has his own tyrannical brother to contend with, so he joins those in the forest. Rosalind, now banished, disguises herself as a young man, with Celia as her servant, and follows Orlando into the forest. Can true love find a way, and can brothers be reconciled and harmony restored?

As You Like It, which will be directed by Mark Lamos also feature Herb Foster in its cast, is scheduled to run at the Delacorte Theatre from June 25 through July 17.