Broadway Beat | Summer freebies for theater fans in NYC
From "Shakespeare in the Park" to "Broadway in Bryant Park," there's a lot to see free outdoors this summer. (And some big-name talent.)
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/DACY3SEF3JHFTDNI6MDET6HIJ4.jpg)
Toby Zinman writes a monthly roundup of Broadway news and deals.
If you’re so over the Tony hoopla and the big-ticket prices that followed (and preceded), you’re likely to be ready for free stuff. My column this month is devoted to no-cost theatrical fun in NYC.
Of course, there will be plenty to spend all this saved money on once the Broadway season gets going in September.
Shakespeare in the Park
A city dominated by skyscrapers knows how valuable public parks are, and NYC makes extraordinary use of them. First, the most obvious: Shakespeare in the Park, at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.
A modern version of the war-filled tragedy Coriolanus will run July 16-Aug. 11, starring Jonathan Cake (Camping, Desperate Housewives) in the title role. Directed by Tony winner Daniel Sullivan (Proof), the play — last presented here in 1979 — also stars Kate Burton, daughter of Richard (Present Laughter, The Constant Wife), as Volumnia. Information: publictheater.org/Free-Shakespeare-in-the-Park
Euripides in Harlem
And speaking of classical tragedy in open-air theaters, the Classical Theatre of Harlem opens its 20th anniversary season with Euripides’ The Bacchae at the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park, 18 Mount Morris Park West (at West 122nd Street).
The free show is directed by Carl Cofield (One Night In Miami), with choreography by Tiffany Rea-Fisher. Performances are at 8:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, through July 28. Information: cthnyc.org/summer
Broadway in Bryant Park
Bryant Park, right on 42nd Street, is also celebrating a 20th season, for its Broadway in Bryant Park productions, featuring cast members from Broadway shows doing numbers from their productions.
Santino Fontana (a Tony winner for Tootsie), Alex Brightman (Beetlejuice), and Sophia Anne Caruso (also from Beetlejuice) will be among the featured performers in this year’s series, sponsored by 106.7 Lite-FM. The free, hour-long lunchtime revues are performed at 12:30 p.m. for six consecutive Thursdays, starting this week and continuing through Aug. 15.
Information is at bryantpark.org/programs. Here’s the spectacular lineup:
July 11, songs and cast members from Be More Chill, King Kong, Stomp, and Wicked.
July 18, Beetlejuice, Chicago, Come From Away, Jersey Boys, and Waitress.
July 25, Disney on Broadway Takeover, with selections and cast members from Aladdin, Frozen, and The Lion King.
Aug. 1, Broadway Bounty Hunter, Rock of Ages, The Cher Show, and The Prom.
Aug. 8, A Musical About Star Wars, Beautiful, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, and Pretty Woman.
Aug. 15, Frankenstein, Mean Girls, The Phantom of the Opera, and Tootsie.
Broadway Buskers
Famous entertainers also perform their own original music free in the Broadway Buskers series Tuesdays from 5-7 p.m. on the Broadway Plaza between 43rd and 44th Streets, in the midst of the Times Square outdoor food market.
The series runs all summer. Information: timessquarenyc.org. Here’s the talent for this month’s performances. (Big wow for the 5 p.m. show July 30.)
July 9, John Krause (Hadestown) at 5 p.m., Desi Oakley (Chicago) at 6 p.m.
July 16, Chris Dwan (Finding Neverland) performs with music director Will Van Dyke (Pretty Woman) at 5 p.m. as Stereo Dawn. At 6 p.m., Alison Luff (Escape to Margaritaville) performs with her husband, Matthew Magnusson, as The Bones.
July 23, Marcus Paul James (Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations)_at 5 p.m., Diana Oh (Public Theatre Emerging Writers Group) at 6 p.m.
July 30, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog, The Gershwins’ Porgy and Bess, White Noise) performs at 5 p.m. with her neo-soul group, the Band. Dru Serkes (Jersey Boys) follows at 6 p.m.