Twelfth Night in the Park with Hathaway, Esparza, McDonald Begins Previews

The Public Theater's star-studded production of Twelfth Night under the stars in Central Park begins previews tonight.

Directed by Dan Sullivan, the Shakespeare in the Park production stars Michael Cumpsty, Clifton Duncan, Raúl Esparza, Herb Foster, Leslie Harrison, Anne Hathaway, Slate Holmgren, Kevin Kelly, David Kenner, Hamish Linklater, Dorien Makhloghi, Audra McDonald, David Pittu, Ray Rizzo, Jay O. Sanders, Stark Sands, Baylen Thomas, Zach Villa, Jon Patrick Walker, Julie White Charles Borland, Andrew Crowe, Steve Curtis, Christopher Layer, Robin LeMon and Julie Sharbutt

Twelfth Night will run June 10-July 12 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park with an official press opening on Thursday, June 25 at 8 pm. Bank of America returns as lead sponsor of Shakespeare in the Park 2009. For additional information about Shakespeare in the Park, visit The Public Theater website at www.publictheater.org

Twelfth Night , one of Shakespeare’s most beloved romantic comedies, is a time-honored story of cross-dressing and mistaken identity that follows the romantic adventures of Viola and her identical twin Sebastian, both shipwrecked in the enchanted dukedom of Illyria.

This summer, The Public Theater will again offer a limited number of free tickets through a Virtual Line, available at www.publictheater.org. The process will be the same as last year where on the day of a show, users can log on to the virtual line anytime between midnight and 1 pm to register for tickets for that evening’s performance. After 1 pm that same day, users can log on to see if they have received tickets through the Virtual Line, which they can then claim at the Delacorte Theater Box Office between 4:30 and 7:30 pm. A valid photo ID is required for all Virtual Line pick-ups at the box office. The Public Theater will also be implementing a Senior Virtual Line this year which functions the same way as the regular virtual line but registrants must be 65 or older to be eligible.

Summer Supporter tickets for the show are available for a tax-deductible contribution of $170. These reserved seats are only available for a limited time to ensure that the highest number of free seats will be available to distribute to the general public on the day of the show. Summer Supporter tickets help to underwrite production expenses. Supporter tickets are available at The Public Theater Box Office at 425 Lafayette Street or online at www.publictheater.org.

Twelfth Night will feature original music by symphonic folk-rock band Hem, scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by Jane Greenwood, lighting design by Peter Kaczorowski, sound design by Acme Sound Partners, fight direction by Rick Sordelet, and choreography by Mimi Lieber.