Shakespeare in the Park anounce 2013 line-up

The Public Theater have announced their 2014 Shakespeare in the Park season which will present two Shakespeare plays, Much Ado About Nothing and King Lear, for free at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park this summer.

Lily Rabe will star as 'Beatrice' and Hamish Linklater as 'Benedick' in their production of Much Ado About Nothing, directed by Jack O'Brien, playing for five weeks from the 05 Jun - 06 Jul 2014.

Linklater most recently performed in 'The Comedy of Errors' last summer, while Rabe was in the 2012 Shakespeare in the Park production of 'As You Like It.' They both performed in Daniel Sullivan's 2010 production of 'The Merchant of Venice.'

Much Ado About Nothing was first staged at the Delacorte in 1972 and was directed by A. J. Antoon, featuring Sam Waterston as 'Benedick' and Kathleen Widdoes as 'Beatrice.' It was also performed at the Delacorte in 1988, directed by Gerald Freedman and featuring Kevin Kline as 'Benedic,' and Blythe Danner as 'Beatrice.' It was last staged at the Delacorte in 2004, directed by David Esbjornson, featuring Jimmy Smits as 'Benedick' and Kristen Johnston as 'Beatrice.'

This will be followed by King Lear, starring John Lithgow, directed by Daniel Sullivan, playing at the Delacorte Theater from 22 Jul - 17 Aug 2014.

Lithgow last performed at the Delacorte Theater as 'Laertes' in 'Hamlet' in 1975.

King Lear was first staged at the Delacorte in its inaugural year, 1962, directed by Joseph Papp and Gladys Vaughan. The show featured Frank Silvera as 'Lear.' The last time it was staged at the Delacorte was in 1973, where it was directed by Edwin Sherin and featured James Earl Jones as 'Lear.'

The Public's Artistic Director Oskar Eustis said,

"This summer, Shakespeare in the Park features two of the greatest plays ever written: the magnificent comedy Much Ado About Nothing and the towering tragedy of King Lear. We are welcoming back three of The Public's most beloved Shakespeareans of the past decade, Dan Sullivan, Lily Rabe and Hamish Linklater. And we are proud that one of America's greatest theater artists, Jack O'Brien, will be making his Delacorte debut and that the amazingly talented John Lithgow will be returning to the Park after an inexplicable 35-year absence. It will be a miraculous summer.

Tickets to The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park are free and are distributed, two per person, at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park on the day of the show.