Shakespeare in the Park Begins Performances for MEASURE FOR MEASURE & ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, 6/6

The Public Theater will begin previews on Monday, 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.

MEASURE FOR MEASURE begins performances on Monday, June 6 and officially opens on Thursday, June 30. ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL begins performances on Saturday, June 11 and officially opens on Saturday, June 25. 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 (last staged in the Park in 2001) and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL (last staged in the Park in 1993) are as enthralling, theatrical, and transporting as any works in the canon. Together the two plays offer an extraordinary sense of Shakespeare's scope and power, humor and insight. Their vivid characters, searingly intense emotions, magnificent flights of metaphor, and riveting stories will showcase a thrilling Central Park season of American Shakespeare of the highest caliber.

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 will feature 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.

Borough Distribution: In addition to the ticket line at the Delacorte Theater and Virtual Ticketing online, a limited number of vouchers for specific performances will be distributed at locations throughout New York's five boroughs. Each person in line is allowed two vouchers and each voucher is good for one ticket for that evening's performance. Vouchers must be exchanged for tickets at the Delacorte Theater Box Office that same day from 4:00-7:30 p.m.

For MEASURE FOR MEASURE, a limited number of ticket vouchers will be distributed on Tuesday, June 7 in Brooklyn at the Brooklyn Children's Museum (145 Brooklyn Avenue); Monday, June 13 in Queens at New York Hall of Science (47-01 111th Street); Wednesday, June 15 in The Bronx at Lehman Stages at Lehman College (250 Bedford Park Boulevard West); Saturday, June 18 in Staten Island at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center (100 Richmond Terrace); and Monday, June 27 in Manhattan at Harlem Stage at The Gatehouse (150 Convent Avenue at West 135th Street).

For ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL, a limited number of ticket vouchers will be distributed on Saturday, June 11 in The Bronx at The Point (940 Garrison Avenue); Thursday, June 16 in Queens at The Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (16104 Jamaica Avenue); Fiday, June 17 in Brooklyn at 651 Arts Center (651 Fulton Street); Thursday, June 23 in Manhattan at El Museo del Barrio (1230 5th Avenue); and Tuesday, July 5 in Staten Island at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center (100 Richmond Terrace).

In the tradition of Joe Papp, reserved seats for MEASURE FOR MEASURE and ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL are available through the Summer Supporter Program. A fully tax-deductible contribution of $175 entitles each Supporter to one reserved seat for either production. A limited number of Summer Supporter seats are available to ensure that as many free seats as possible will be available to distribute to the general public on the day of the show. Supporter contributions help to underwrite free Shakespeare in the Park.

Summer Supporter donations can be made at The Public Theater Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street, by phone at (212) 967-7555, or online at www.publictheater.org. Seating locations for Summer Supporters and Public Theater Partners will be allocated strictly by giving level.

For additional information about Shakespeare in the Park, please 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.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus