Multiple venues through September 17, free with advance RSVP
The Shiva Theater at the Public Theater, 425 Lafayette St., September 19 – October 9, $20
212-539-8500
publictheater.org
“I always felt that we should travel,” Public Theater founder Joseph Papp said once upon a time. “I wanted to bring Shakespeare to the people.” Beginning in 1957, Papp did just that, sending out cast and crew in a Mobile Unit that would present free Shakespeare plays to disenfranchised audiences throughout the five boroughs, including prisons, shelters, and underserved community centers. The unit is on the road right now with Hamlet, which will be making stops at the Brownsville Recreation Center on August 31, the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on September 9, the Williamsbridge Oval Recreation Center on September 10, the Pelham Fritz Recreation Center on September 16, and Faber Park Field House on September 17. (Advance RSVP information can be found here.) Among the recent Mobile Unit productions are Romeo & Juliet, The Comedy of Errors, Measure for Measure, Richard III, Much Ado About Nothing, and Macbeth. This year they are presenting Hamlet, directed by Patricia McGregor (Hurt Village, The Mountaintop) and starring Chukwudi Iwuji as the Dane, Kristolyn Lloyd as Ophelia, Orlagh Cassidy as Gertrude, Christian DeMarais as Laertes, Jeffrey Omura as Horatio, and Timothy Stickney as Claudius. Once the tour is over, the production heads over to the Public’s Shiva Theater, where it will run from September 19 to October 9, with all tickets $20. The scenic design is by Katherine Akiko Day, with costumes by Montana Levi Blanco and music by Imani Uzuri.