MEASURE FOR MEASURE Opens in the Park Tonight!

The Public Theater began previews June 6 for the 2011 Shakespeare in the Park summer season featuring MEASURE FOR MEASURE, directed by David Esbjornson, and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, directed by Daniel Sullivan. The two shows will run in repertory with the same company of actors through Saturday, July 30 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. On June 25, ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL opened to favorable notices and tonight, June 30, MEASURE FOR MEASURE celebrates its official opening night.

 Tickets to both shows are free and distributed the day of the performance. All performances are at 8:00 p.m. For ticket information and performance schedule, visit www.shakespeareinthepark.org or call 212-539-8750. The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is accessible by entering at 81 Street and Central Park West or at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.

The 2011 repertory company for MEASURE FOR MEASURE and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL consecutively, includes Kristen Connolly (Juliet/Diana), John Cullum (Escalus/King of France), Carson Elrod (Pompey/Interpreter), Joe Forbrich (Friar Peter/Duke of Florence), Danai Gurira (Isabella in Measure for Measure), Michael Hayden (Angelo/Second Brother Dumaine), André Holland (Claudio/Bertram), Jordan Lund (Abhorson/Rinaldo), David Manis (Elbow/Lavatch), Dakin Matthews (Provost/Lafew), Caitlin O'Connell (Nun/Widow,Isbel), Annie Parisse (Mariana/Helena), Tonya Pinkins (Mistress Overdone/Countess), Lorenzo Pisoni (Duke/First Brother Dumaine), Reg Rogers (Lucio/Parolles), and Lucas Caleb Rooney (Barnardine/Gentleman).

The summer's non-Equity ensemble features Bill Army, Lauren Ferguson, Edena Hines, Zoey Martinson, Adam McNulty, Katie Meister, Charlie Francis Murphy, Carra Patterson, James Rees, Aleque Reid, Benjamin Thys, Brendan Titley, Katie Tuminelly, Zachary Unger, Benjamin Perry Wenzelberg, Katie Wieland, and Roger Yeh.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE sweeps from the corridors of national power to the intimate confines of the bedroom, and from the convent's chapel to the executioner's block. It is Shakespeare at his grittiest: a bracing and bawdy glimpse of what happens when those in power allow their basest human impulses to range unchecked.

ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL is a fairytale for grown-ups. This beguiling fable follows the low-born Helena, one of Shakespeare's most resourceful heroines, as she inventively surmounts obstacle after impossible obstacle in order to win the love of the aristocratic and haughty Count Bertram.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL features scenic design by Scott Pask; costume design by Elizabeth Hope Clancy (Measure for Measure) and Jane Greenwood (All's Well That Ends Well); lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski; original music and sound score by John Gromada (Measure for Measure) and original music by Tom Kitt (All's Well That Ends Well); sound design by ACME Sound Partners; and hair and wig design by Charles LaPointe (Measure for Measure) and Tom Watson (All's Well That Ends Well).

Tickets to Shakespeare in the Park are FREE and are distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park at 1:00 p.m. the day of the show. This summer, The Public Theater will again offer free tickets through our Virtual Ticketing, available at www.shakespeareinthepark.org.

Virtual Ticketing will be the same as in past years where, on the day of a show, users can log on to www.shakespeareinthepark.org anytime between midnight and 1:00 p.m. to register for that evening's performance. After 1:00 p.m. that same day, users can log on to see if they have received tickets through Virtual Ticketing; recipients will also be sent a confirmation email by 5:00 p.m. if they have received tickets for that evening's performance. Virtual Ticketing recipients are chosen at random to receive tickets, not in the order requests are received.

Participants with a Virtual Ticketing confirmation can claim their tickets at the Delacorte Theater Box Office between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. that evening. Any tickets not picked up by 7:00 p.m. will be released to the standby line. A valid photo ID is required for all Virtual Ticketing pick-ups at the box office.

Senior Virtual Ticketing will also return this year; it functions the same way as the regular virtual ticketing but registrants must be 65 or older to be eligible and must present valid photo ID with proof of age.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus

Tonya Pinkins and Carson Elrod

Lorenzo Pisoni

John Cullum and Annie Parisse

Lorenzo Pisoni and Danai Gurira

John Cullum and Lorenzo Pisoni

André Holland and Danai Gurira

Lucas Caleb Rooney and Carson Elrod

André Holland and Lorenzo Pisoni

David Manis, Carson Elrod, Lucas Caleb Rooney, and Brendan Titley

John Cullum

Danai Gurira, Dakin Matthews, Annie Parisse, Michael Hayden, and Lorenzo Pisoni

Reg Rogers, Roger Yeh, Carson Elrod and Brendan Titley

André Holland and Danai Gurira