Ready to celebrate (shouldn’t that be commiserate?) the 400th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s death in 2016? The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park will return this May, with Broadway alum Cush Jumbo, Tony winner Janet McTeer and more tapped for the lineup.



Phyllida Lloyd will direct an all-female The Taming of the Shrew, featuring Jumbo (The River) as Katherina and McTeer (A Doll's House) as Petruchio. The production is scheduled to run May 24 through June 26 and will be followed by the rarely revived Troilus and Cressida. Helmed by Daniel Sullivan, the show is set to play July 19 through August 14.



Public Works’ musical adaptation of Twelfth Night at the Delacorte is slated for early September, and will be conceived by Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub, with music and lyrics by Taub and directed by Kwei-Armah.



Meanwhile, downtown at Astor Place, the Mobile Unit’s Romeo & Juliet, directed by Lear deBessonet, will play for three weeks from April 11 through May 1 following a tour of the five boroughs. Additionally, the Public’s Annual Gala at the Delacorte is scheduled for June 6.



We’re dreaming of those summer nights already.