Shakespeare’s Birthday Bash

William Shakespeare turns 451 on Thursday, April 23 and on that day, to celebrate the Bard’s birthday, The Drilling Company and Bryant Park Shakespeare will take over Bryant Park for the second year in a row with “Shakespeare’s Birthday Bash” from 12:30 to 2:30. An energetic, two-hour collection of live performances and participatory events will be offered, all free to the public.

Peppering the park from 12:30 to 1:00 PM, a “Shaksepearean Flash Mob” of over fifty actors from The Drilling Company will perform excerpts from every play in the Shakespeare Canon. Great speeches, scenes, sonnets and more will be offered.

On the Fountain Terrrace Stage from 1:00 to 1:30, Shakespearean song stylings will be performed with vocals and string instruments. On the Fountain Terrace Stage from 1:30 to 2:00, audience members can win a free T-shirt by grabbing a microphone and reading a Shakespearean speech aloud. Bryant Park’s food service kiosks will be open.