FREE
Shakespeare in the Park at Central Park's Delacorte Theatre is returning
July 6th through
September 18, with
MERRY WIVES, a fresh and joyous adaptation by Jocelyn Bioh of Shakespeare’s
The Merry Wives of Windsor.
The adaptation is set in South Harlem, amidst a vibrant and eclectic community of West African immigrants, starring an all black cast, including Susan Kelechi Watson (of
This Is Us.)
Due to current Health and Safety protocols,
the FREE tickets will NOT be distributed in lines in Central Park, in the boroughs, or at The Public's flagship on Lafayette Street on the day of the performances.
No waiting in long lines: 







Instead, this summer, free tickets will be distributed entirely ONLINE via an advanced digital lottery by GOLDSTAR.

You can also enter your email at the same Goldstar link for tickets:
https://www.goldstar.com/events/new-york-ny/free-shakespeare-in-the-park-lottery-merry-wives-tickets
to sign up for notification as soon as the free ticket lottery registration opens.
The advance date lotteries will be on the TUESDAY and FRIDAY the week before the performances. For example:
Goldstar will begin accepting entries on Tuesday, June 29 (12AM ET to 12PM ET) for the Tuesday, July 6 and Wednesday, July 7 performances, and then again on Friday July 2 (12AM ET to 12PM ET) for performances July 8 through July 10, and
continue each Tuesday for Monday-Wednesday performances, and on Friday for Thursday-Saturday performances thereafter.
So, the current tickets available at midnight TONIGHT,
Fri, July 2 (starting 12AM ET to 12PM ET)
are for tickets for Thursday, July 8 through Saturday, July 10.
What's great about the advance online lottery is that people coming in from out of town can try to get tickets in advance, instead of wasting the time standing in line the day of the performances.
The down side of getting tickets a week in advance for an outdoor performance is that it may be hard to determine what the weather will be for that night.


If you haven't attended a performance where it rains, the performance will go as scheduled if it isn't raining at 8pm. It will go on for as long as possible. If it does start raining, and it's a light to medium rain, the performance stops as everyone hopes it will stop raining and they can continue.
BRING a RAIN PONCHO and UMBRELLA to wait out the rain, sitting in your seat. (It may be good to bring an extra mask or two also, so you can change out for a dry one.

) If it's determined the rain won't stop, an announcement will be made to cancel the performance.
Day-Of-Performance Standby Tickets:
On the day of each scheduled performance, a limited number of free tickets may become available beginning at 12PM (noon) until the start of the performance at 8PM. This summer, they are piloting an option to
request Standby tickets via Text messaging, in order to minimize waiting in line in Central Park.
There will also be some ADA Accessible performances.
(See website for dates.)
The Delacorte Theater’s seating capacity will be currently be 80% with both Full Capacity and Physically Distanced sections. Full Capacity sections are reserved for those who are COVID-19 vaccinated, and the Physically Distanced sections are reserved for those who are not COVID-19 vaccinated.
Everyone will be required to wear a mask inside the venue, regardless of vaccination status.
For more info about the show, ticketing info, safety protocols, the cast bios, and dates of ADA Accessible performances:
https://publictheater.org/productions/season/2021/sitp/merry-wives/