 The theater in 2021 | |
 Interactive map of Delacorte Theater | |
| Address | Central Park Manhattan,New York United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 40°46′48.36″N73°58′7.56″W / 40.7801000°N 73.9687667°W /40.7801000; -73.9687667 |
| Owner | City of New York |
| Operator | Public Theater |
| Capacity | 1,800 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | June 18, 1962[1] |
| Tenants | |
| Shakespeare in the Park | |
TheDelacorte Theater is a 1,800-seat open-airamphitheater inCentral Park, in theNew York City borough ofManhattan. It is home to thePublic Theater's freeShakespeare in the Park productions.
Over five million people have attended more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals at the Delacorte Theater since its opening in 1962.[2] The theater was closed for renovation between 2023 and 2025.
Joseph Papp ran a Shakespeare festival starting in 1954. Papp's group had been touring New York's boroughs on temporary staging, including presenting at Central Park. Papp's group was well-regarded, and he started seeking funds in 1958 for a permanent outdoor amphitheater in Central Park, with the aid ofHelen Hayes. Parks CommissionerRobert Moses was opposed to the project. However, Moses was replaced byNewbold Morris in 1960, who was much more positive toward the creation of a theater.
The city government decided to go forward with the project, and theBoard of Estimate approved $250,000 in funds for construction, with Park Department architects designing the original theater. The theater had been planned to open in 1961. However, the funds ran dry with the theater unfinished. Morris talked with his friendGeorge T. Delacorte Jr., president of theDell Publishing company. Delacorte, a fan of Shakespeare, agreed to fund the remaining $150,000 to finish construction of the theater, which was named in honor of him and his wifeValerie in gratitude.[3] The theater was built on the site of an oldCroton Aqueduct reservoir.[4]
Delays from changes in design, a construction strike, as well as procuring the required funds from Delacorte pushed the opening back to 1962. The first production at the theater was in June 1962 withThe Merchant of Venice, starringGeorge C. Scott andJames Earl Jones.[5] The theater originally had 2,300 seats;[3] at some point, the number of seats was reduced to make the experience less overcrowded for the audience.
Festival Latino (1976–1991), "the largest festival of Hispanic culture in the history of North America", was run by Oscar Ciccione and Cecilia Vega, producing Spanish-language shows every August at the Delacorte Theater.
In 2012 the Public celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Delacorte with a gala and a one-night only reading ofRomeo and Juliet starring numerous past performers.Meryl Streep andKevin Kline read the lead roles.[6] By the 2010s, the theater was in poor shape. The bleachers were leaky and crowded, while the backstage areas were covered only by tarps.[4][7] Some actors refused to perform at the Delacorte due to the bad conditions there.[4]
In 2018, the Public announced plans for the first major renovation of the Delacorte.[8][9] They cited several goals for the renovation: betteraccessibility for disabled patrons and performers, improved backstage flow and operations, a new facade, replacement of the stage floor due to exposure and weather damage to the original deck, and better lighting.[10]Bjarke Ingels was originally hired to redesign the theater, which was intended to cost $110 million.[8][9] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Public indicated that it did not want to spend as much money on the renovation.[4] As such, the Public hiredEnnead Architects, which had previously redesigned theAstor Library Building,[4] to renovate the Delacorte.[11][12] TheNew York City Landmarks Preservation Commission approved the plans in January 2022.[13][14]
The Delacorte closed for renovation in September 2023[7][15] after the final show of the summer 2023 season, a musical version ofThe Tempest, closed.[16] The renovation was expected to take around 18 months, with the theater planned to reopen in time for the summer 2025 season.[7][17] As part of the renovation, the theater was rebuilt with wood recycled from water towers atop apartment buildings in New York City.[18][19] The theater was rebuilt in a conical shape, and the backstage facilities were also refurbished to accommodate a higher number of performances.[4] The renovated theater reopened on July 15, 2025,[20][21] having cost $85 million to rebuild.[4][21]
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The 2007 season productions wereRomeo and Juliet, directed by Michael Greif, who directedRent, andA Midsummer Night's Dream featuring Jon Hill and Mallory Portnoy.[31]
The 2008 season began withHamlet (May 27 – June 29), withMichael Stuhlbarg in the title role, under the Public Theater's Artistic DirectorOskar Eustis.Sam Waterston, who played Hamlet the last time the tragedy was presented at the Theater (1975), playedPolonius. The second presentation wasJames Rado's,Gerome Ragni's, andGalt MacDermot'sHair (July 22 – September 14) led by Jonathan Groff and Will Swenson.[32] Christopher J. Hahnke took over the role of Claude when Mr. Groff left to film "Taking Woodstock".Hair made its original debut in October 1967 atJoseph Papp's Public Theater, the initial presentation of the theater.
The 2009 season began withTwelfth Night (June 9 – July 12), withAnne Hathaway playingViola, andEuripides'The Bacchae (August 11 to September 6), with music byPhilip Glass.[33]
The 2010 season (June 9 – August 1) featuredThe Merchant of Venice andThe Winter's Tale performed in repertory.[34]Al Pacino starred as Shylock inThe Merchant of Venice, but a conflict with rehearsals prevented him from participating inThe Winter's Tale.[35] The repertory plays also featured Jesse Tyler Ferguson (as Solanio inMerchant and Young Shepard inThe Winter's Tale); Jesse L. Martin (Gratiano/Polixenes); Lily Rabe (Portia/First Gentlewoman); Ruben Santiago-Hudson (Prince of Morocco/Leontes); and Max Wright (Old Gobbo/Old Shepherd).Daniel Sullivan directedMerchant of Venice, andMichael Greif directedThe Winter's Tale.
The 2011 season (June 6 – July 31) featuredAll's Well That Ends Well, directed by Daniel Sullivan, andMeasure for Measure, directed by David Esbjornson running in repertory on alternate evenings.[36][37] The repertory cast featuresJohn Cullum,Danai Gurira,Michael Hayden,Annie Parisse,Tonya Pinkins, Lorenzo Pisoni, andReg Rogers.
The 2012 season celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Delacorte Theater, featuringLily Rabe andOliver Platt in Shakespeare'sAs You Like It directed by Daniel Sullivan andAmy Adams andDonna Murphy inStephen Sondheim andJames Lapine'sInto the Woods, a transfer of an outdoor production done inRegent's Park inLondon in 2010. The season also featured a one-night only reading ofRomeo and Juliet starringMeryl Streep andKevin Kline in the two lead roles, supported byPhylicia Rashad,Sam Waterston,Sandra Oh,Bill Irwin,Christine Baranski,John Cullum,Raúl Esparza,Jesse L. Martin,Jerry Stiller,Christopher Walken,David Harbour, and others.
The 2013 season began withThe Comedy of Errors, directed by Dan Sullivan and featuring Shakespeare in the Park alumni Jesse Tyler Ferguson as Dromio and Hamish Linklater as Antipholus. Ferguson and Linklater last performed together inThe Winter's Tale andThe Merchant of Venice in 2010 for The Public's Shakespeare in the Park. The second show of the 2013 season was a new musical adaptation of Shakespeare'sLove's Labour's Lost, directed by Alex Timbers with songs by Michael Friedman, and book adaptation by Alex Timbers. Timbers and Friedman last collaborated on the award-winning musicalBloody Bloody Andrew Jackson at The Public and Timbers directed the new David Byrne musicalHere Lies Love that spring at The Public's downtown home at Astor Place.[38]
The 2014 season featuredHamish Linklater,Lily Rabe andJohn Lithgow all in starring roles. Linklater and Rabe took on the witty love-match of Beatrice and Benedick in Shakespeare'sMuch Ado About Nothing while Lithgow tackled the title role in Shakespeare'sKing Lear.[39]
With the exception of pre-reserved tickets for donors to the Public or friends of the production, all tickets for shows at the Delacorte are distributed the day of a performance. Traditionally, tickets are distributed at the Delacorte Theater's box office beginning at noon and until they are sold out, with audiences lining up as soon as if not before Central Park opens at 6:00 AM. All performances also have a standby line, where any tickets that were canceled, returned, or not picked up before 7:30PM are distributed. Audiences are allotted two tickets per person.
Beginning in 2007, the Public offers alternate methods of gaining tickets to productions at the Delacorte. On the day of performances the theater distributes ticket vouchers at a designated location in one of the five boroughs beginning at noon. Vouchers are also distributed at the Public's in-person lottery, held downtown at their 425 Lafayette Street location at noon. A digital lottery, currently managed byTodayTix, is also drawn at noon. Recipients of vouchers and/or winners of the lotteries can exchange or pick up their tickets at the Delacorte box office between 5:30 and 7:30PM, prior to the performance.[40]
Media related toDelacorte Theater at Wikimedia Commons
