Free Shakespeare Returns To Central Park After Previous Play Riled Trump Fans

CENTRAL PARK, NY — Here's some good news for New York City theater buffs — free Shakespeare is set to return in Central Park. The Public Theater will debut its production of William Shakespeare's comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream," at the Delacorte Theater on Tuesday night.

"In July, the Delacorte Theater will transform into the most enchanted forest in all of theater in Shakespeare’s beloved comedy, A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM," the Public Theater's website reads. "When the merry sprite Puck meddles with a magical love potion, young lovers lost in the woods mysteriously find themselves infatuated with the wrong person in this hilarious, fairytale fantasia that proves the course of true love never did run smooth."

For those wondering: the original play does not feature any assassination scenes.

The Public Theater's first summer production, "Julius Caesar," caused quite the controversy when it featured a scene where actors pretend to stab an actor who looked and acted like President Donald Trump to death on stage. The contemporary-themed staging of the play was directed by Oskar Eustis who, along with wife, received death threats for the production. Some of the productions of the play were also disrupted by right-wing media types, a few of whom were arrested.

The Trump-themed "Julius Caesar" also hurt the Public Theater's funding when backers such as Delta and Bank of America ended their sponsorships of the production company due to the ensuing right-wing outrage.

The Public Theater's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" will run until August 13, according to the company's website. Tickets to the event are free, but theatergoers should show up well before the 8 p.m. start time to snag a ticket due to high demand.

Photo by Randy OHC via Flickr/Creative Commons