Photos: See Ato Blankson-Wood, Solea Pfeiffer & More in Rehearsals for HAMLET at Free Shakespeare in the Park

The Public Theater begins previews for the Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Shakespeare’s classic drama HAMLET on Thursday, June 8. Directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon, HAMLET will have an extended run of nine weeks, running at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park through Sunday, August 6 with an official opening on Wednesday, June 28.

See rehearsal photos below!

HAMLET and Public Works’ THE TEMPEST (running August 27-September 3) will be the final Free Shakespeare in the Park productions at The Delacorte Theater before it is temporarily closed for renovations to improve accessibility, audience comfort, back-of-house operations, and to re-clad the facade in reclaimed wood sourced from around New York City, thus reducing the carbon footprint of the project. During the renovations, The Public will offer free outdoor programming across all five boroughs celebrating Free Shakespeare in the Park's legacy, with additional details to be announced. Free Shakespeare in the Park will return to its newly renovated home at The Delacorte in 2025. 

To increase access to Free Shakespeare in the Park tickets for all New Yorkers, free tickets are distributed in a variety of ways across all five boroughs. Free tickets to HAMLET may be acquired on the day of the performance in person at The Delacorte Theater, in person at a borough distribution site, via an in-person lottery in the lobby of The Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street, or through a digital lottery via the TodayTix mobile app. All tickets are subject to availability. More details, including the schedule of borough ticket distributions, can be found at thepublic.nyc/FSITP-Tix.

The complete cast of HAMLET includes Ato Blankson-Wood (Hamlet), Mikhail Calliste (Player), Liam Craig (Understudy), Brandon Gill (Guildenstern/Opening Vocalist), Safiya Harris (Gentlewoman/Ensemble), Lauryn Hayes (Player), Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Osric/Priest), Greg Hildreth (Gravedigger), LaWanda Hopkins (Player), Jaylon Jamal (Ensemble), Trí Lê (Barnardo/Ensemble), Colby Lewis (First Player/Opening Vocalist), Cornelius McMoyler (Gravedigger’s Assistant/Ensemble), Warner Miller (Horatio), Daniel Pearce (Polonius), Solea Pfeiffer (Ophelia), Nick Rehberger (Laertes), Laughton Royce (Messenger/Ensemble), Lance Alexander Smith (Marcellus/Opening Vocalist/Ensemble), John Douglas Thompson (Claudius), Lorraine Toussaint (Gertrude), Myxolydia Tyler (Understudy), William Oliver Watkins (Understudy), Lark White (Sailor/Ensemble), Mitchell Winter (Rosencrantz), and Bryce Michael Wood (Understudy).