Wood reclaimed from dozens of water towers across the city made its way into the new Delacorte Theater.
Photographer: Jeff Goldberg/EstoA New Stage for the Theater That Gave America Shakespeare in the Park
The renovation of New York’s Delacorte Theater in Central Park is a bright spot for the Bard in an era of steep cuts to federal funds for public theater.
About 15 years ago, after Patrick Willingham was first hired as executive director of New York City’s Public Theater in 2011, he was walking past the Delacorte Theater, the group’s open-air stage in Central Park, when he heard two women talking. One pointed at the weathered concrete structure and asked what it was. “Oh, I think it’s a baseball stadium or something,” her friend replied.
This was the same stage where James Earl Jones once thundered as Claudius in Hamlet. Where Raúl Juliá faced down Meryl Streep in Taming of the Shrew. Where Jeffrey Wright said he found his most important early role in the part of “Third Cypriot Gentleman” in Othello. The Delacorte Theater was more than a crusty amphitheater: It’s the stage where free summer Shakespeare — a staple of the season in city parks across the US — was born.