Breaking News: COMEDY OF ERRORS & LOVE LABOUR'S LOST Set for SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK 2013! Ferguson & Linklater to Star

The Public's 2013 free Shakespeare in the Park season will begin on Tuesday, May 28 with THE COMEDY OF ERRORS, featuring Shakespeare in the Park alumni Jesse Tyler Ferguson ("Modern Family") as Dromio and Hamish Linklater ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") as Antipholus. Ferguson and Linklater last performed together in The Winter's Tale and The Merchant of Venice in 2010 for The Public's Shakespeare in the Park. Directed by Daniel Sullivan, THE COMEDY OF ERRORS will run for five weeks through Sunday, June 30.

The second show of The Public's free Shakespeare in the Park season will be a new musical adaptation of Shakespeare's LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST, directed by Alex Timbers with songs by Michael Friedman, and book adaptation by Alex Timbers. Timbers and Friedman last collaborated on the award-winning musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at The Public and Timbers will direct the new David Byrne musicalHere Lies Love this spring at The Public's downtown home at Astor Place. LOVE'S LABOUR'S LOST, A NEW MUSICAL will begin performances on Tuesday, July 23 and run through Sunday, August 18.

"This summer will be a joyous and light-hearted celebration of Shakespeare's comic side - from the wild slapstick of The Comedy of Errors to the hip beauty of Alex Timbers and Michael Friedman's musical adaptation of Love's Labour's Lost," said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "TheComedy of Errors will let our beloved Dan Sullivan explore his antic side, and Love's Labour's Lost will be the first original musical adaptation of Shakespeare's work at the Delacorte since the storied Two Gentlemen of Verona in 1971. The summer will be filled with universal laughter!"

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public Theater is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare and the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day.

Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues-including its landmark downtown home at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to its beloved, free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City's five boroughs.

The Public's wide range of programming includes free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company's dedication to making theater accessible to all, new and experimental stagings at The Public at Astor Place, and a range of artist and audience development initiatives including its Public Forum series, which brings together theater artists and professionals from a variety of disciplines for discussions that shed light on social issues explored in Public productions. The Public Theater is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.