#InTheLoop | The Bard Is Back! Free Shakespeare in Queens Parks This Summer
Love flows freely in the Kingdom of Illyria — and confusion runs rampant – after a society woman lands ashore in a shipwreck. Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night follows a comedic love triangle full of mistaken identity and unrequited love, as nobles and servants navigate twisted, gender-bending paths.
But the 16th century playwright wasn’t all about laughs. His Anthony & Cleopatra depicts tragedy after a fateful meeting that reshaped the ancient world. Just like Caesar before him, Roman general and ruler Marc Antony falls madly in love with Cleopatra, the enchanting Queen of Egypt. Power collides while passion runs amok in this exotic and intriguing tale, which ends in suicide.
The Woodside-based theater company Hip to Hip is currently presenting these plays in outdoor settings around the borough (and in Jersey City, Long Island, and Staten Island).
All shows are free. Here’s the remaining Queens schedule.
Aug. 5, Crocheron Park, 35th Avenue and Corbett Road, Bayside, 7:30 pm
Aug. 7, Gantry Plaza State Park, 4-09 47th Rd., Long Island City, 7:30 pm
Aug. 12, Cunningham Park, Union Turnpike and 196th Street, Fresh Meadows, 8 pm (Aug. 17 rain date)
Aug. 13, Voelker Orth Museum, 149-19 38th Ave., Flushing, 7:30 pm
Aug. 15, Socrates Sculpture Park, 32-01 Vernon Blvd., Long Island City, 5 pm
Aug. 18, Sunnyside Gardens Park, 48-21 39th Ave., 7:30 pm
Aug. 6, Voelker Orth Museum, 7:30 pm
Aug. 8, Socrates Sculpture Park, 5 pm
Aug. 11, Sunnyside Gardens Park, 7:30 pm
Aug. 14, Gantry Plaza State Park, 7:30 pm
Aug. 19, Crocheron Park, 7:30 pm.
Hip to Hip has presented free, outdoor Shakespeare plays every summer since 2007 with the exception of last year. Jason and Joy Marr, who are married, run the nonprofit. They also act in the roughly 90-minute shows along with other professionals.
Images: Hip to Hip
