Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kathryn Meisle, Steel Burkhardt & More to Join Lily Rabe in Shakespeare in the Park's MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING

The Public Theater announced additional casting today for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, the first show of The Public's 2014 season of free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte. Directed by Jack O'Brien, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING begins previews on Tuesday, June 3 and runs through Sunday, July 6, with an official press opening on Monday, June 16.

In addition to the previously announced Lily Rabe (Beatrice) and Hamish Linklater (Benedick), MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will feature Steel Burkhardt (Balthasar); Austin Durant (Friar Francis, Sexton); John Glover (Leonato); David Manis (Antonio, Verges); Kathryn Meisle (Ursula); Ismenia Mendes (Hero); Brian Stokes Mitchell (Don Pedro); John Pankow (Dogberry); Pedro Pascal (Don John); Eric Sheffer Stevens (Borachio); and Zoë Winters (Margaret). The non-equity ensemble includes Matt Bittner, Alex Breaux, Paco Lozano, and Matthew Russell.

Obie Award winner Hamish Linklater and Tony Award nominee Lily Rabe return to the Park this summer as the wise-cracking, would-be lovers Beatrice and Benedick in the beloved romantic comedy MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING. Central Park becomes sun-drenched Sicily at the turn of the last century, where the heat of summer ignites the fevered passions of lovesick ladies in corsets and pining gentlemen spying from the verandah. Three-time Tony winner Jack O'Brien directs this delightful skirmish of wit between two self-declared bachelors tricked by their mischief-making friends into falling in love against their will and in spite of their own hearts.

MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING features scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by ACME Sound Partners, and original music by David Yazbek.

Following MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, John Lithgow returns to the Delacorte in July to play Lear in The Public's second show of the free Shakespeare in the Park summer season. KING LEAR, not seen in the Park since 1973, will begin performances on Tuesday, July 22 and run through Sunday, August 17, with an official press opening on Tuesday, August 5. Lithgow last performed at the Delacorte Theater as Laertes in Hamlet in 1975.

Revenge, rage, grief and delusion thunder upon the Delacorte as Tony and Emmy Award winner John Lithgow takes the stage as one of theater's great tragic heroes, King Lear. Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan directs Shakespeare's classic drama about a King who loses everything-including his mind-when he disowns his favorite daughter, and finds himself betrayed in return.

KING LEAR features scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Susan Hilferty, lighting design by Jeff Croiter, sound design by ACME Sound Partners, and original music by Dan Moses Schreier.

Bank of America continues its leadership sponsorship in support of The Public's mission to keep Shakespeare in the Park free.

The Public's free Shakespeare in the Park is continuing a 52-year tradition of free theater in Central Park. Since 1962, over five million people have enjoyed more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals at the Delacorte Theater. Conceived by founder Joe Papp as a way to make great theater accessible to all, The Public's free Shakespeare in the Park continues to be the bedrock of the Company's mission to increase access and engage the community.

The Public Theater Annual Gala will be celebrated on Monday, June 23 at the Delacorte Theater. To receive an invitation to The Public Theater's Gala, please call (212) 539-8634 or visit www.publictheater.org.

FREE TICKETS to The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park are distributed, two per person (age 5+), at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at 12:00 p.m. on the day of each performance. In order to allow as many different people as possible to attend free Shakespeare in the Park this summer, visitors will be limited to receiving free tickets to two performances only of each production. There will continue to be a separate line for accessible tickets for senior citizens (65+) and patrons with disabilities.

VIRTUAL TICKETING LOTTERY FOR FREE TICKETS will be available at www.publictheater.org on the day of the show, beginning Tuesday, June 3.