4 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Upstaged by Raccoons? The Joys of Playing Shakespeare in Central Park.
Raccoons, rainstorms and now, a transformative renovation. Since 1962, the Delacorte Theater in Central Park has hosted fuzzy critters and leaking rafters alongside production crews, stage actors and bands of New Yorkers braving the elements for Free Shakespeare in the Park. Now, after an 18-month, $85 million makeover, the Delacorte, which is operated by the Public Theater, will reopen on Thursday with a starry production of 'Twelfth Night.'
Covered in blood, soaked by rain, adorned with crowns and capes: Over the past few decades, The New York Times photographer Sara Krulwich has captured a who's who of the acting world crossing the Delacorte stage. 'There's nothing more magical,' Oscar Isaac said. We spoke to actors, directors and others about their memories of working en plein air. These interviews have been edited and condensed for clarity.
Liev Schreiber
You know how some things get embedded in your memory, and you don't know if you made them up or if they actually happened? I was relatively young, and I had this memory of seeing Raul Julia play Othello at the Delacorte, and a heron or some kind of big bird took off right behind the stage as he strangled the life out of Desdemona. It's the thing that motivated me to want to work at the Delacorte.
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