Free Theater in New York City This Summer

Free theater is one of New York’s most cherished summer traditions. Much of it takes place outdoors, setting the poetry of the world’s greatest dramatists to the music of the city that never sleeps. Here’s a list of 10 shows, none of which require a credit card to check out.

The Imaginary Invalid (through May 25)
You’ve heard of Shakespeare in the Park, but what about Molière in the Park? Like its older sibling in Manhattan, this young Brooklyn company offers free performances in a different Park (specifically, the LeFrak Center at Lakeside, Prospect Park) of works by the great French comic playwright. This year, it’s Lucie Tiberghien’s new translation of The Imaginary Invalid, starring Tony nominee Sahr Ngaujah as the ludicrous hypochondriac Argan. Be sure to pack your own hand sanitizer, because he’s not sharing.

Julius Caesar (May 29–June 22)
Experience Shakespeare’s tale of the Roman dictator and the Senators who conspire to take him down in the shadow at the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument in Riverside Park, which resembles a small Roman temple. Expect the fight choreography to be spectacular. This is the first of a three-production season from Hudson Classical Theater Company, which has been thrilling audiences on the north patio of the monument for 22 years.

Much Ado About Nothing (May 29–June 29)
Composer Julián Mesri and director Rebecca Martínez have delighted audiences for the past two summers with their zippy bilingual musical adaptation of The Comedy of Errors, which toured the city with the Public’s Mobile Unit. They’re back this year with Much Ado About Nothing, Shakespeare’s comedy of burgeoning love, percolating hate, and nasty rumors in Messina. The traveling production will hit all five boroughs with venues including the New York Public Library at Bryant Park and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. You can see a full list of stops here.

All’s Well That Ends Well (June 3–July 6)
New York Classical Theatre will present Shakespeare’s comedy about Helena, a low-born woman who gatecrashes the royal court of France using her extraordinary medical skill and just a little bit of ethically questionable trickery. But the means justify the ends, right? NYCT takes the line “All the world’s a stage” literally and is famous for leading audiences on an adventure from scene to scene through NYC’s public parks: This year, they’re performing Central Park (June 3-22), Carl Schurz Park (June 24-29), and Battery Park (July 1-6). There’s no better way to stretch your legs with the Bard.

 Richard II (June 21–July 20)
Boomerang Theatre Company presents Shakespeare’s tale of England’s hapless King, whose usurpation by Henry Bolingbroke kicks off the Henriad. Aimee Todoroff directs the production in Central Park, an excellent setting to consider the increasingly useless monarchs this country might want to dislodge.

Sense and Sensibility (June 26–July 20)
As their second offering this season, Hudson Classical is presenting a stage adaptation of Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen’s rom-com novel about money troubles and coupling, both strategic and ill-considered. This July is all about hot goss in Regency England.

Memnon (July 5-27)
Written by Will Power and directed by Carl Cofield, this new play recenters the Trojan War on the warrior King of Ethiopia who came to Troy’s defense and slew Nestor’s son Antilochus. The title role in this East Coast premiere will be played by Eric Berryman, who was wonderful in 2023’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Primary Trust. As always, performances will be in the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater in Marcus Garvey Park.

The Lady from the Sea (July 24–August 17)
As their final play of the summer, Hudson Classical is mounting Henrik Ibsen’s rarely produced drama about a lighthouse operator’s daughter in the throes of a midlife crisis. Will she stick with her respectable physician husband, or take a chance on love with a bad-boy sailor from her past? The barge horns on the nearby Hudson River have an opinion.

Twelfth Night (August 7–September 14)
After a hiatus last summer, the OG free Shakespeare in the Park returns in spectacular fashion to the Delacorte with a production of Twelfth Night starring Lupita N’yongo as the shipwrecked Viola, her real-life brother Junior N’yongo as Viola’s twin Sebastian, Sandra Oh as grief-stricken countess Olivia, Daphne Rubin-Vega as her maid Maria, Peter Dinklage as striving majordomo Malvolio, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson as permanent houseguest Sir Andrew Aguecheek. Casting has not yet been announced for the role of Sir Toby Belch, but with this cast, we know it has to be someone big. This is one of Shakespeare’s funniest comedies performed by a cast well-positioned to knock it out of the park.

Pericles (August 29–September 2)
Public Works, which has reliably put up grand musical stagings of Shakespeare featuring a cast of hundreds of community members, returns with Troy Anthony’s gospel adaptation of Pericles, a famously convoluted play with one of the happiest endings in all Shakespeare. Since Twelfth Night will still be in the Delacorte, this production will play Labor Day weekend at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine—an ideal venue to praise the Lord.