Free HENRY IV Comes to Brooklyn's Carroll Park Tonight

The celebrated Brooklyn theatre company, Smith Street Stage, will return to Carroll Park to present its annual outdoor production of a play by William Shakespeare. This summer's production will be Henry IV, Part One and Part Two, playing from tonight, June 30 through July 19. Admission is free. No tickets are required.

Henry IV is an epic tale of family drama, sweeping historical battles, and classic Shakespearean comedy. The Smith Street Stage production of Henry IV is Shakespeare with a twist - all casting is gender-blind. Actors and actresses have been chosen to play roles without regard to the characters' scripted genders.

Brooklyn's Smith Street Stage is proud to continue its summertime tradition of presenting outdoor Shakespeare-under-the-stars in Carroll Park. (Theatre-goers from other NYC boroughs are welcome).

Henry IV, Part One and Part Two, will be performed in repertory on alternate evenings. On select dates, both parts will be presented (complete performance schedule below).

Theatre-goers are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes prior to curtain time. The stage will be set at the east end of Brooklyn's beautiful Carroll Park, along Smith Street. Ground seating is open to the public, as well as a limited number of chairs. Many theatre-goers bring picnic blankets, some bring chairs of their own.

Henry IV presents King Henry IV as he tries to keep his country from unraveling into chaos. Meanwhile, his son, Prince Hal, ignores the growing danger to drink and thieve with the buffoonish scoundrel, Sir John Falstaff. When civil war threatens to break out, however, Hal must choose between duty to his country and loyalty to his friend in a pivotal decision for both the prince and his nation.

Henry IV is directed by Joby Earle and features Michael Hanson as Hotspur/Pistol, Beth Ann Hopkins as Bardolph/Douglas/Warwick, Jonathan Hopkins as Falstaff, Jane May as King Henry/Hostess Quickly, Jonathan Minton as Worcester/Chief Justice, Lauren Pennline as Poins/Westmorland, Sam Reiff-Pasarew as John/Gadshill/Shallow/Doll and Hannah Sloat as Prince Hal.

Smith Street Stage was founded in 2010, with a mission to present affordable, exciting and consequential theater arts to a diverse audience. Starting with a five actor adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, Smith Street Stage has always looked for new ways to tell classic stories. Since that first production the company has grown to hiring over twenty artists and performing summer Shakespeare for over two thousand people each summer in Brooklyn's Carroll Park. Past productions include Twelfth Night, Julius Caesar, Much Ado About Nothing, Macbeth, and Christmas Carol: A Radio Play.

Henry IV Performance Schedule:

Part One: June 30, July 8, 10, 16 at 8:00pm

Part Two: July 1, 9, 15, 17, at 8:00pm

Part One and Part Two, back-to-back:

July 2, 11, 12, 18, 19

Part One at 6:30pm

Part Two at 8:00pm

For more information about Smith Street Stage and the company's 2015 outdoor Carroll Park production of Shakespeare's Henry IV, visit www.SmithStreetStage.org