Public Theater Announces Summer 2019 Shakespeare In The Park Cast

CENTRAL PARK, NY — The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park offerings for summer 2019 are starting to take form following the company's announcement of the cast for its first production of the season.

The company's production of the comedy "Much Ado About Nothing" will run from May 21 to June 23 and feature actors such as Grantham Coleman playing Benedick, Jeremie Harris as Claudio, Margaret Odette as Hero and Billy Eugene Jones as Don Pedro. The production will be directed by Tony-award winner Kenny Leon.

This year's production of "Much Ado About Nothing" will be the fifth time the comedy will be performed at Central Park's Delacorte Theater. The play was previously produced in 1972, 1988, 2004 and 2014.

Leon's direction of the comedy promises a "bold new take on Shakespeare’s cherished comedy of romantic retribution and miscommunication," according to a Public Theater press release.

"In this modern production, we find the community of Messina celebrating a break from an ongoing war. But not all is peaceful amid the revelry, as old rivals engage in a battle of wits, unexpected foes plot revenge, and young lovers are caught in a tumultuous courtship – until love proves the ultimate trickster, and undoes them all," the press release reads.

"Much Ado About Nothing" will be the first of two free productions this summer at the Delacorte Theater. The comedy will be followed by the political drama "Coriolanus." Details about the second production have not yet been released.

Here's the full cast list courtesy of the Public Theater:

• Jamar Brathwaite (Ensemble);
• Danielle Brooks(Beatrice);
• Grantham Coleman (Benedick);
• Chuck Cooper (Leonato);
• Javen Crosby (Ensemble);
• Denzel Fields (Ensemble);
• Jeremie Harris (Claudio);
• Tayler Harris (Ensemble);
• Erik Laray Harvey (Antonio/Verges);
• Kai Heath (Ensemble);
• Daniel Croix Henderson (Balthasar);
• Tyrone Mitchell Henderson (Friar Francis/Sexton);
• Tiffany Denise Hobbs (Ursula);
• Lateefah Holder (Dogberry);
• LaWanda Hopkins (Dancer);
• Billy Eugene Jones (Don Pedro);
• Margaret Odette (Hero);
• Hubert Point-Du Jour (Don John);
• Jaime Lincoln Smith (Borachio);
• Jazmine Stewart (Ensemble);
• Khiry Walker (Conrade/Ensemble);
• Olivia Washington(Margaret);
• Latra A. Wilson (Dancer).