Judy Gold, Donna Lynne Champlin & More Complete Cast of Shakespeare in the Park's All-Female THE TAMING OF THE SHREW

The Public Theater announced complete casting today for the 2016 Free Shakespeare in the Park production of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW, beginning performances on Tuesday, May 24 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd, this all-female production is part of the global 400th anniversary celebration of William Shakespeare's life and death. The free production will officially open on Tuesday, June 14 and run through Sunday, June 26.

In addition to the previously announced Janet McTeer as Petruchio and Cush Jumbo as Katherina, the complete cast of THE TAMING OF THE SHREW features Candy Buckley (Vincentio); Donna Lynne Champlin (Hortensio); Rosa Gilmore (Lucentio); Judy Gold (Gremio); LaTanya Richardson Jackson (Baptista); Teresa Avia Lim (Biondello); Adrienne C. Moore (Tranio); Anne L. Nathan (Pedant); Gayle Rankin (Bianca); Pearl Rhein (Ensemble); Leenya Rideout (Ensemble); Jackie Sanders (Ensemble); and Stacey Sargeant (Grumio).

This summer, the Tony nominated director Phyllida Lloyd turns Shakespeare's zany comedy of the sexes THE TAMING OF THE SHREW on its head, with an all-female cast and a bold new take. Lovely Bianca is the prize to be won by all the men looking to land themselves a wealthy wife. But the competitors will first have to marry off Bianca's clever, fiery older sister, Katherina played by Olivier nominee Cush Jumbo, who may just outsmart them all. Tony and Olivier winner Janet McTeer plays Petruchio, the wild outsider Katherina must outwit, in Shakespeare's original screwball comedy showing the lengths men will go to for their legacy, what women will do to break free and the outrageous things we all do for the human heart.

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW features set and costume design by Mark Thompson; lighting design by Robert Wierzel; sound design by Mark Menard; and music composition by Sam Davis.

Following THE TAMING OF THE SHREW in July, Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan returns to the Park to direct one of the Bard's most rarely produced plays, TROILUS AND CRESSIDA, with performances beginning July 19.

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.

Tickets to The Public Theater's FREE Shakespeare in the Park are distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on the day of the show. The Public Theater will again offer free tickets through our Virtual Ticketing lottery on the day of the show at www.publictheater.org. The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is accessible by entering at 81st Street and Central Park West or at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.

In conjunction with the start of the Shakespeare in the Park summer season, The Public will be partnering with the New-York Historical Society and 92nd Street Y to present First Folio! The Book That Gave Us Shakespeare, published in 1623, as part of the Folger Shakespeare Library's nation-wide tour celebrating the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death. Containing the first published scripts of 36 of Shakespeare's most famous plays-including Hamlet, Macbeth and As You Like It-the First Folio will be on display at the New-York Historical Society for six weeks for free, beginning June 7. To celebrate this magnificent book and the playwright who changed the world, there will be a series of events and conversations planned about the work and world of William Shakespeare.