RICHARD II and AS YOU LIKE IT (PublicWorks) to play Shakespeare in the Park

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Musical-AS-YOU-LIKE-IT-RICHARD-II-Announced-for-2020-Shakespeare-In-The-Park-Season-20200130



Very mixed feelings about this.

Richard II is one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, but I've never had the opportunity to actually see it live. So I'm excited about that. But with the exception of Fires in the Mirror, I have not been at all impressed with Saheem Ali's work in the past. They had better find someone great to play Richard.

I saw this version of As You Like It when it played a week at the Delacorte a few years ago, and while there were charming aspects of it, it was also kind of a hot mess. This is the 2nd time (to my knowledge) the Public has decided to take a PublicWorks show and give it a slot in the main Shakespeare in the Park season, and I'm just not sure how I feel about that. Philosophically, I have a lot of respect for PublicWorks as a program, but artistically, I think we can all agree they aren't exactly top notch (nor are they designed to be). It's very kind of the Public to give the PublicWorks productions a chance to be front and center, but as an audience member, I'm disappointed that we'll only have one Delacorte production this summer that's up to professional standards.

I have to agree with JBroadway regarding Saheem Ali. I've seen a handful of plays he's directed, and I'd say his talents are middling at best, and in a few instances his direction was an active hindrance.

Updated On: 1/31/20 at 11:52 AM

Play Esq. said: "I really do miss the days when theShakespeare in the Park announcement used to be epic: Hathaway inTwelfth Night...Pacino in Merchant of Venice...Meryl Streep in Mother Courage."



I agree. I've thought about this a lot in the past few years, and I really feel like I missed out on an era. I missed pretty much all of those epic productions because I didn't move to NY until a few years ago. The only really high profile one I got to see was Into The Woods. I've seen some great things in the park in the past 6-5-6 years or so, but also a lot of duds, and I rarely look at the announcements and feel any excitement.

One theory I have is that The Public is deliberately not casting huge, A-List celebrities anymore because they don't want to have people lining up overnight anymore, making it impossible for average people to get tickets. SITP has been a lot more accessible these days, but they're still getting decent turnouts, and they're probably saving money at the same by not casting huge names.

This is probably the last year of Shakespeare in the Park as we know it. They're relocating for 2021 during the renovation, and in the NYT Oskar Eustis said he "hoped the project would enable the Delacorte to extend its season into the spring and fall." With slightly more insulation and light climate control, they could absolutely do 3 productions (5 weeks each with 2 weeks off in between) between Mother's Day and the first day of Fall...which could allow for 2 plays + a full Public Works production.

Remember also that the "Joe Papp Generation" are all 70+ or deceased. And Oscar Eustis doesn't work with stars in the way that George Wolfe did. Most star actors bristle at the idea of performing outside, especially with the current Delacorte facilities. Perhaps the updated space will encourage more stars to return to the Park.

boring....