The Play's The Thing, But It's Not The Only Thing

If it ever stops raining, which I'm sure it will someday, I am going to celebrate by going to the greatest thing about New York - Shakespeare in the Park. This year the show is Twelfth Night (which I'm pretty sure I've never seen), with Anne Hathaway, Raul Esparza, Audra MacDonald and Julie White, but it almost doesn't matter who's in it because the experience of sitting out on a summer night in the world's most beautiful park in the middle of New York City watching a play that is absolutely free is the moment I always feel, I can't believe I get to live here.

There are many other things that give me that feeling - the 14th Street Greenmarket, the frozen custard at the Shake Shack, the air-conditioning on the subways, the red-tailed hawks, the Chrysler Building, to name a few - but it all seems to crystallize on those nights in the Delacorte Theater.

Anything can happen at Shakespeare in the Park. Herons land on stage. Planes fly over. This year, I read in the papers, a raccoon wandered onstage. Sometimes the actors forget their lines, and sometimes they break up laughing; it doesn't make any difference. The sheer exuberance of the cast - and, as I said, the fact that the show is absolutely free - makes the audience absolutely giddy. And it's such a completely obvious and satisfying metaphor for New York, or at least our idealized version of it -- as the cultural capital of the world that anyone can come to and be welcome in.

Every play at Shakespeare in the Park benefits from an entirely unconnected and thrillingly-suspenseful subplot - the question of whether it will rain before the evening ends. Two years ago, we saw a Romeo and Juliet that stopped short before the lovers died, and no one cared. Last year, at Hair, the heavens exploded at the exact moment the audience rose to cheer at the end of the play. Only the least hardy were daunted: most of the audience joined the cast onstage and danced with the players, soaking wet.

Shakespeare in the Park: go to Publictheater.org for showtimes. And bring your umbrella.

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Comments

[talltaletim]

Hi Nora, tried to post something but it didn't go through...but if this is the second comment coming to you...oops.

I am Timothy D. Cameron, a children's author and I just wanted to share my work with you. Bubble White Hair.

http://books.trafford.com/07-0427

I will have more of my works out in the next few months. Thanks for being an inspiration. I love your light hearted work.

[cybillake]

Hello Nora,
Thanks for this list of why NYC is still great in the summertime. sometimes i forget when i'm sweating on the sidewalks.
I was wondering if you'd be open to being my mentor? I'm a filmmaker making my second feature in NYC now.

www.thecybillakeshow.com
www.thegunvirgins.com

i'd greatly value your advice. I am in great need of a mentor. Are you up for it? Looking forward to your response!

Best Wishes,
Cybil Lake

[violetamorato]

Dear Nora,
I really like to talk to you, I'm a 49 years old Brazilian Linguist writing my first screenplay, and I don't know how to get in touch with you.
Best wishes.

[TJCole]

"What young egg, thou frye of treachery, tis the wood of Burnham, Burn'em Wood...stock...!"

[maxfolger]

I think it *is* a metaphor for New York - hopefully not just an idealized version, but real!

[LarryD]

And this year there's another plus: a new outpost of Danny Meyer's food group, this one called Public Fare. Will it measure up to Ms. Ephron's beloved frozen custard at Mr. Meyer's Shake Shack? I'm staying tuned.

[Alvin4NY]

For anyone visiting New York City, it is worth it to get up early and stand in line for the free tickets. What Nora describes is the absolute truth, and you can't beat a night under the stars, with the pond and tall trees, Belvedere's Castle, the Manhattan skyline and Shakespeare! I loved every minute that I was there, and those nights will always be a highlight of living in New York. Oscar Eustis is a very passionate person, and people line up for the experience of working at the Public Theatre, and attending the shows. Loved watching them collect the Tony this year. Much deserved.

[jayburd]

Did you know your name is almost the same as a hormone: norepinephrine?

[Tasha Gordon-Solmon - Huffpost Blogger]

I went to see it in the rain last week, and it was kind of amazing. But if you do that bring a poncho.

[lucycountessofbedford]

Outdoor Shakespeare is the best -- wherever it happens.

I once played Titania at a local campus. Somebody chained their bicycle to the bench that doubled as Titania's bower, unlocked the bike while I was "sleeping," and cycled off across the stage -- getting a round of applause from the audience.

[yorkie]

Today is Papp's birthday so it's fitting this story is here now...all the world's a stage,,,,keep Shaking in the Park! the Bard shall never have a final curtain on his plays !

[MerrieWay]

MerrieWay Loves Giddy, Girl! Rallying as an improv' comedienne, “Twelfth Night" is a definitve favorite.
Shakespeare might be ever so forgiving if a raccoon graced the stage,.and the actor's went up on their lines. If the raccoon bit grabbed the audience, he might have logged it in as an ongoing treat.

Having a gestalt audience experience is the max for outdoor theatre...an interactive human extension of the play - the 'real-deal' thing.

Love to our beloved Joe Papp - wherever you are shining.

[kdubbg]

My wonderful S.O. used to work as the Front of House manager at the Public. One of her prized possessions is a letter from Meryl Streep thanking her for rescuing a barking dog from the Turtle Pond during a performance. Apparently the dog had gotten mired in the muck and couldn't get out, so Pauline waded in after it.

[BritPatJax]

I wanted to do this on my one lengthier stay in New York but had to be sensible about the safety aspect as we were doing things on a shoe string. We found other things to do during the day and early evening and the highlight was a trip on the ferry to Staten Island at dusk and not too far from home at Brooklyn. For a Brit there can be nothing to match 'Proms in the Park. Very patriotic and free in Hyde Park on summer evenings. London or New York? For safety? No question.

[IrisCedar]

This post so evokes the feel of a beloved summertime ritual that I hate to throw rain on it (sorry 'bout that). But I live in California and, I gotta tell ya, this is the kind of post that reads like one of those maps where Manhattan takes up 50% and NYC about 90%.
Here's the reality out here: there is no money for the arts. That free performance? It isn't free at all. Someone paid for it and, in this economy, those someones are drying up. (I'll take a rain of cash any day.) Out here, donations are down, because businesses and individuals are running scared. And the government? C'mon, this is California. Free? No ma'am. Someone's paying for that performance--it just ain't you. And you know, if you could have afforded to pay, go find a small company and donate.
Which brings me to the actors and plays. I support two companies. Both have developed companies of actors, who aren't just big names brought in for a season. These groups have worked together for several years. They pay close attention to the text, to the characters, and to keeping it real. I cannot imagine them breaking into laughter or forgetting their lines. They care too much--and so does their audience. And they do it for a few hundred dollars. Whether we pay at the door or not, we are in their debt.

[dgsweet]

Well, in NY, Shakespeare in the Park is paid for by a combination of public money, private grants, and those folks who don't want to stand in line and so buy sponsorships for (I think) $170.00. Also, it's subsidized by the actors who take WAY less than their normal fees. (Many of these people are stars accustomed to being very well-compensated indeed.) One of the things people forget about subsidized theatre is that the largest subsidy is frequently from the talent who get paid relatively little for a lot of very hard work.

TWELFTH NIGHT is a joy. Without down-playing the work that smaller companies do (and I spend much of my life working with smaller companies, so I love them), there is a particular pleasure in having a cast this large, this well-trained, and this committed playing for thousands of their fellow citizens. That some of them are stars luring their fans to see their first Shakespeare is a bonus. (How many following Ann Hathaway to the Delacorte are seeing TWELFTH NIGHT for the first time?)

Don't be too put off by Nora Ephron's sentence about forgetting lines. I've been going off and on for decades and the only time I've seen a show not proceed smoothly has been when something technical has gone wrong or when an actor has paused while a particularly noisy jet went by because the next line was crucial.