NEW YORK — A starry group of veteran Public Theater actors — including Lupita Nyong'o, Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Sandra Oh — will help reopen the newly revitalized Delacorte Theater in Central Park in a free production of ''Twelfth Night.''
''To say that we are reopening this next phase of the Public and we're doing it with these four performers who have history and roots at the Public Theater just felt like an extraordinary way to imagine the production,'' said Saheem Ali, the Public's associate artistic director and resident director.
Ali picked William Shakespeare's romantic comedy ''Twelfth Night'' to christen the return in the summer of 2025, featuring immigrant characters among the shifting identities and revenge plots.
''I wanted something with life and joy and vitality that celebrated the city of New York,'' he said. ''The different levels of identity that the play operates under — I've always been fascinated by that.''
There's also a personal reason: ''Twelfth Night'' in Central Park was the first show Ali saw in New York when he first arrived from Boston in 2002. It was a Monday — the day Broadway traditionally is dark — so he went to Central Park.
''I stood in line. It was late in the day. I got one of the last tickets, and that was the first show that I ever saw in New York,'' he recalled.
While ''Modern Family'' star Ferguson has performed in Central Park before, the revival will mark the Delacorte debuts of Nyong'o, Dinklage and Oh.
The Public's free Shakespeare in the Park program is a beloved staple for both actors and audience, a place where you can hear a line like ''My stars shine darkly over me,'' delivered by an actor by moonlight.
