New York Classical Theatre to Present HENRY IV in NYC Parks This Summer

New York Classical Theatre will present William Shakespeare’s Henry IV as the main production of the company’s 25th anniversary season. NY Classical is the city’s only Equity theatre that offers free performances to the public. The company believes that everyone—regardless of social, economic, or educational background—should have the opportunity to enjoy live professional theatre together as a community.
 
The special Panoramic Theatre production, a two-hour conflation of Henry IV, Parts 1 & 2, will be adapted and directed by Mr. Burdman. The production will be staged in three New York City parks: Central Park (June 11-30), Carl Schurz Park (July 2-7), and Battery Park (July 9-14). Due to the renovation of the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Delacorte Theatre, NY Classical’s Henry IV will be the only Shakespeare staged in Central Park this summer.  
 
Henry IV will feature Artistic Associates John Michalski (King Lear, The Importance of Being Earnest, The Rivals, The Winter’s Tale, Twelfth Night, Hamlet) as Sir John Falstaff and Ian Antal (Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, As You Like It, Henry V) as Prince Hal. Additional casting will be announced soon. 
 
New York Classical Theatre is also proud to announce the two finalists of their New Visions play development program: Lemuria by Bonnie Antosh and The Killing Fields by Anya Pearson. The two finalists will receive one-week AEA workshops, with public performances, in the spring and fall of 2024. Subsequently they will be produced Off-Broadway by NY Classical in future seasons.
 
The other semi-finalist plays were Hecuba by Amanda L. Andrei and Antíkoni by Beth Piatote.
 
Under the direction of Literary Director, Matthieu Chapman, this inaugural three-year initiative received 328 entries. The purpose of New Visions is to develop new plays by historically underrepresented playwrights that explore new ways of viewing the “classics,” expand our ideas of what “classics” can be, and challenge the power structures that undergird the notion of “classics.”
 
Finally, NY Classical’s 25th Anniversary Gala will be held on May 7, 2024 at the Manhattan Penthouse. The event, with special one-time live performances, will honor Founding Artistic Director Stephen Burdman and raise much needed funds for NY Classical’s free and professional programs in the 2024 season.
 
More information can be found at www.nyclassical.org. 
 
BIOGRAPHIES
 

Stephen Burdman

(Director/Artistic Director). New York Classical Theatre: Richard III, The Rewards of Being Frank (also at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company), Cymbeline, King Lear (2021, 2020 Zoom workshop, 2009); The Importance of Being Earnest (Two Ways), 2019 Best Show TheatreScene.net), Romeo & Juliet,Macbeth (2017, 2008, 2001), The Rivals, The Winter’s Tale (2016, 2004), Measure for Measure, As You Like It (2014, 2005), The Seagull, Malvolio’s Revenge (workshop), A {15-Min!} Christmas Carol, Twelfth Night (2012, 2002), Playing Moliere, Henry V (New York Times Critic’s Pick), The School for Husbands, Much Ado About Nothing (2010, 2003), Hamlet, Misalliance, Love’s Labour’s Lost, The Comedy of Errors, Mary Stuart, Scapin, The Feigned Courtesans, The Triumph of Love, The Taming of the Shrew, King Ubu, A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Producer: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, The Rover, Richard III, Cymbeline, The Recruiting Officer, All’s Well That Ends Well. Selected productions: Cymbeline (NYU), The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, Waiting for Godot, Hamlet (Outstanding Production 1994 Season, Los Angeles Times), Three Sisters. MFA from the University of California, Irvine and graduate of the National Theater Institute. Member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society since 1994. Recipient of 2022 Sidney Berger award from the Shakespeare Theatre Association for outstanding talent and commitment to the works of William Shakespeare.

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