![The Importance of Being Earnest on Harbor View Lawn](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ae/The_Importance_of_Being_Earnest_on_Harbor_View_Lawn.jpg)
New York Classical Theatre is the only all-free professional
off-Broadway theatre in NYC. Founded by Stephen Burdman, the company has presented more than 700 free performances of works by
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
and other classical playwrights including
Aphra Behn,
Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
,
Farquhar,
Jarry,
Marivaux
Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (4 February 1688 – 12 February 1763), commonly referred to as Marivaux, was a French playwright and novelist.
He is considered one of the most important French playwrights of the 18th century, writing num ...
,
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...
,
Schiller,
Shaw and
Sheridan. Over the past 19 seasons, nearly 250,000 people have experienced 39 free New York Classical productions outdoors in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban park in the United States, with an estimated ...
,
Prospect Park,
The Battery,
Rockefeller Park,
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park is an park on the Brooklyn side of the East River in New York City. Designed by landscape architecture firm Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates, the park is located on a plot of land from Atlantic Avenue in the south, und ...
,
Carl Schurz Park
Carl Schurz Park is a public park in the Yorkville neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, named for German-born Secretary of the Interior Carl Schurz in 1910, at the edge of what was then the solidly German-American community of Yorkville ...
and on
Governors Island
Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
, and indoors at
Brookfield Place.
Every season they present two free productions in multiple public spaces. The company's production of William Shakespeare's
''Henry V'' began in
Battery Park
The Battery, formerly known as Battery Park, is a public park located at the southern tip of Manhattan Island in New York City facing New York Harbor. It is bounded by Battery Place on the north, State Street on the east, New York Harbor to ...
(England) and, via a ferryboat courtesy of
Statue Cruises, took the audience across the New York Harbor (English Channel) to
Governors Island
Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk Channel. The National Park ...
(France).
[Two Islands Are a Stage, and All Are Actors]
Neil Genzlinger, July 12, 2011, The New York Times.
References
{{reflist
External links
*http://www.newyorkclassical.org/
Theatre in New York City
Central Park
Off-Broadway theaters
Prospect Park (Brooklyn)