Shakespeare in Central Park via Brooklyn

O.K. Shakespeare in Central Park is not in Brooklyn….BUT, Here is what a Brooklynite should be made aware of, the ticket distribution is sometimes at BAM at 651 Hanson.

I have been going to the Shakespeare Festival for almost forty years and almost never disappointed. Indeed performances are almost always sold out for this huge semi circular theatre (it is almost a stadium). The best way to get tickets is find an outer borough distribution and get on line about two hours before distribution. Don’t bother trying for tickets in Manhattan, the line is often several blocks long and the line starts are midnight.

The best word to describe the Shakespeare Festival is civilized. There are no bad seats in the theatre. The theatre faces Turtle Pond and Belvedere Castle, which makes an amazing back drop for a Shakespearean play. Because of the prestige of the performances, we have seen many great actors there and Twelfth Night was no different. Anne Hathaway (Rachel Getting Married) played Viola, Raul Esparza (Speed the Plow) played Orsino and Audrey MacDonald (Ragtime) was the countess

Although edited for modern day sensibilities and references, the production is remarkable true to the original. The story is about misplaced love, cross dressing and foibles of human nature with comic relief by an extremely talented David Pittu, as Feste and Michael Cumpsty (Democracy) as Malvolio. .

The original productions probably had music and music has been reintroduced to the production. The musicians are truly integrated into the play. The music is a delight in itself, and its finale brings the whole massive audience to its feet.

Proximity and access to Shakespeare in Central Park’s Twelfth Night is one of the reasons we love being in Ditmas Park. Don’t miss it.