Multiple locations July 17 – August 3, free
The Public Theater’s LuEsther Theater
425 Lafayette Ave.
August 6-25, $15 general admission
212-967-7555
www.publictheater.org
In the summer of 1957, Joseph Papirofsky literally brought Shakespeare to the masses, trucking through all five boroughs to present a free outdoor production of Romeo and Juliet. The theater guru would soon shorten his last name to Papp and create the world famous New York Shakespeare Festival, which has been presenting high-quality free shows in Central Park’s Delacorte Theater for fifty years now. But the traveling Bard road show is back, as the Public Theater’s Mobile Shakespeare Unit is up and running, spending the next three weeks performing Richard III at locations where people have limited access to the arts (after having presented Measure for Measure last November). The unit will pay visits to such venues as the Jamaica Service Program for Older Adults on July 17, Charlotte’s Place on July 18, the Eric M. Taylor Center on Rikers Island on July 19, the Al Oerter Recreation Center on July 20, the Brownsville Recreation Center on July 24, the Fortune Society on July 26, the Goddard Riverside Community Center’s the Other Place on July 27, the Fort Hamilton Army Base on August 3, and several correctional facilities; some stops will also include educational workshops. Directed by Amanda Dehnert, who also composed the original score, the play stars Ron Cephas Jones as the villainous title character, with Kevin Kelly as Edward, Miriam Hyman as Clarence, Michael Crane as Buckingham, Keith Eric Chappelle as Hastings, Michelle Beck as Anne, Suzanne Bertish as Margaret, Alex Hernandez as Catesby, and Lynn Hawley as Elizabeth. Linda Roethke designed the set and costumes. The production will then move indoors August 6-25 at the Public, with all tickets $15 except for twenty per performance that will be donated to community organizations that were not part of the tour.