Hip To Hip Theatre Company Reopens With Free Shakespeare In The Parks

Hip to Hip Theatre Company got the green light from Actors' Equity to relaunch its flagship program of Free Shakespeare in the Parks and on July 28 it officially set sail in Flushing Meadows.

Audiences will have a chance to enjoy Shakespeare's brilliant romantic comedy Twelfth Night (directed by David Frederick Mold) and his epic romantic tragedy Antony & Cleopatra (directed by Jason Marr), under the stars. The two productions perform in rotating repertory now through August 21, at a dozen parks throughout Queens, Staten Island, Jersey City, and Southampton.

All performances are free and open to the public. Audience members are encouraged to bring a blanket or low chair. No tickets are necessary. Run time: 90 minutes. Masks are optional for fully vaccinated individuals and required for unvaccinated individuals.

Artistic Director, Jason Marr, discussed Hip to Hip's reopening: "During the darkest days of the pandemic, I reminded myself of the resilience of the theatre arts and its creators. Shakespeare survived three ferocious outbreaks of the bubonic plague: he was an infant during the first; he launched his career as a playwright during the second; and he wrote some of his best plays during the third. I knew Hip to Hip would reopen, but I didn't know when. Then, in mid-June a window of opportunity opened thanks to NYC's low COVID positivity rate and high percentage of vaccinations. New York lifted many restrictions and Actors' Equity followed suit by reinstating some types of contracts. Working in our favor was the fact that we'd assembled a fully vaccinated company to rehearse and perform strictly out-of-doors. We were approved to start rehearsals on July 10 and we were slated to open on July 28, so that gave us eighteen days to mount two full Shakespeare productions complete with professional actors, sumptuous costumes, sets, lights and sound."

Marr went on to share, "I love the pairing of Twelfth Night with Antony and Cleopatra. Both are essentially romances, so taken together, our audience will get just about every possible perspective on the theme of love, from the silly to the sublime. After the past fifteen months, I cannot think of a better theme on which to play!"

The repertory cast includes Chaunice Baltitas, Kendall Devin Bell, Kathleen Denecke, Marchael Giles, Erick González*, Shonita Joshi, Bree Marr, Jason Marr*, Joy Marr*, Ima Otto-During, and Colin Wulff*. * denotes members of Actors' Equity Association

Twelfth Night

Love flows freely and confusion runs rampant in Shakespeare's tale of shipwreck, mistaken identity, and unrequited love.

Antony & Cleopatra

One of Shakespeare's great historical love stories. A fateful meeting reshapes the ancient world when Roman Mark Antony falls for Cleopatra, the enchanting Queen of Egypt.

About Hip to Hip Theatre Company

Hip to Hip, now in its 14th year, is dedicated to stimulating and developing interest in the theatre arts in underserved communities by providing free, family-friendly, professional productions of popular classics, and free theatre workshops for children, in public spaces. www.hiptohip.org

Performance Schedule:

August 5, Queens, Crocheron Park (35th Ave & Corbett Rd), Antony & Cleopatra 7:30pm

August 6, Queens, Voelker Orth Museum (149-19 38th Ave), Twelfth Night 7:30pm

August 7, Queens, Gantry Plaza State Park (4-09 47th Rd), Antony & Cleopatra 7:30pm

August 8, Queens, Socrates Sculpture Park (32-01 Vernon Blvd), Twelfth Night 5pm

August 10, Jersey City, Newport on the Green (14th St & River Dr S.), Twelfth Night, 7pm

August 11, Queens, Sunnyside Gardens Park (48-21 39th Ave), Twelfth Night 7:30pm

August 12, Queens, Cunningham Park (Union Tpk & 196th St), Antony & Cleopatra 8pm

August 13, Queens, Voelker Orth Museum (149-19 38th Ave), Antony & Cleopatra 7:30pm

August 14, Queens, Gantry Plaza State Park (4-09 47th Rd), Twelfth Night 7:30pm

August 15, Queens, Socrates Sculpture Park (32-01 Vernon Blvd), Antony & Cleopatra 5pm

August 18, Queens, Sunnyside Gardens Park (48-21 39th Ave), Antony & Cleopatra 7:30pm

August 19, Queens, Crocheron Park (35th Ave & Corbett Rd), Twelfth Night 7:30pm

August 20, Southampton, Agawam Park (25 Pond Lane), Antony & Cleopatra, 7:30pm

August 21, Southampton, Agawam Park (25 Pond Lane), Twelfth Night, 7:30pm

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