Is there no play to ease the anguish of a torturing hour?
There is, my lord, but Brooklyn is a little light on the Bard this summer. South Brooklyn Shakespeare is on hiatus, and New York Classical Theatre has moved on to Oscar Wilde. Smith Street Stage will launch its “Romeo and Juliet” on June 14, but if you want a Shakespearean comedy, you might have to travel across the river, to the distant isle of Manhattan’s Central Park.
The Public Theater launches its 56th season of free Shakespeare in the Park next week with a production of “Much Ado About Nothing” featuring an all-black cast, and residents of Kings County can get a pantaloon up on Manhattanites — for five performances, free tickets will be released right here in Brooklyn.
These distribution points typically attract fewer people than the Public Theater’s home base across the river, which means your chance of getting a pair of tickets is much higher.
How to score your passes:
First, you will need a Public Theater Patron ID. Follow this link: http://publictheater.org/Programs–Events/Shakespeare-in-the-Park/register, and type in your email address. You will get an email with your Patron ID number. Bring it with you to the distribution site.
On the days and locations listed below, ticket distribution will start at noon, but the line starts a few hours in advance. Show up early and bring a book.
When you reach the front, each person can get a voucher for two tickets to that night’s show.
Finally, go to the Delacorte Theater in Central Park in Manhattan (enter at 81st Street and Central Park West), between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m. that evening to exchange your voucher for a pair of tickets. The show will start at 8 p.m.
Where to go:
May 21 at Brooklyn Children’s Museum (145 Brooklyn Ave. at St. Marks Avenue in Crown Heights).
June 6 at Brownsville Recreation Center (1555 Linden Blvd. at Mother Gaston Boulevard in Brownsville).
June 8 at King’s Highway Library (2115 Ocean Ave. between Kings Highway and Quentin Road in Sheepshead Bay).
June 14 at Macon Library (361 Lewis Ave. at Macon Street in Bedford-Stuyvestant)
June 18 at Clinton Hill Library (380 Washington Ave. between Lafayette and Greene avenues in Clinton Hill).
Free tickets are also available by lottery through the TodayTix app.
