An Overabudance of Diligence
Is being hyper conscientious worth the effort?
Oops, I did it again—I stood in line for Shakespeare in the Park, this time to see a fabulous performance of The Winter’s Tale.
I’ve attended this free outdoor event since 1980, using the same M.O. every time: get there at dawn to camp out. And every year I end up about 200 people back by the big rock. Hence, I always end up in virtually the same seats, which are in the section that could be deemed “the nose bleeds.” There were years I felt like they saw me coming and whipped out the same old seats just to mess with me. This year, due to an alternate side of the street parking matter that I had to deal with, I broke tradition and arrived “late” at 9 a.m. Read more
Review: Shakespeare in the Park
Pacino shines in ‘Merchant’; ‘Winter’s Tale’ intoxicates
Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice has meant very different things at very different times. It began its stage life with a comic Shylock in a false nose and evolved through the centuries into a drama of great pathos. But whether you see this play as a comedy or tragedy, Daniel Sullivan’s staging at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, starring Al Pacino as Shylock, is incisive and arresting. Read more
Lessons from Shakespeare in the Park
Life of an actor in New York is no picnic
By Lorraine Duffy Merkl
“Is this the one with Al Pacino?”
That was the question du jour directed to those of us waiting on line to see Merchant of Venice at Shakespeare in the Park. Confirmation was needed because the play alternates nights with the Pacino-free A Winter’s Tale. Read more
Summer Guide 2010: Theater
Marathon 2009
After 30 years, Ensemble Studio Theatre’s One-Act Play Festival is still going strong, with options ranging from the economy to a showdown between a nun and her most rebellious student. If unproven talent gets you down, the E.S.T. Festival is for you during the summer months.
May 22 through June 27, E.S.T., 549 W. 52nd St. (at 10th Ave.), 212-247-4982, www.ensemblestudiotheatre.org Read more
Waiting for the Bard
There are certain rites of passage when you grow up in Manhattan: your first solo subway ride, Central Park becoming your hang out, realizing you’re oblivious to places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Empire State Building and the flowerbeds that line the Park Avenue malls because you’ve seen them all your life, and they have become invisible. I have just added another social custom to my son’s repertoire: waiting on line for tickets to Shakespeare in the Park. Read more
