NYC's Shakespeare in the Park and More Classics: How to Get Tickets and Tips for Bringing Kids

To see, or not to see Shakespeare in the Park with kids? That is the perpetual question when it comes to Shakespeare and other classics. While FREE outdoor mountings of the Bard's iconic plays abound in NYC every summer, some are more family-friendly than others. The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park productions get all the press and feature big stars, but also involve hard-to-get tickets, long run times, and prickly patrons who may give you the stink eye if your child gets fidgety. Happily, lots of other local troupes put on quality, no-cost Shakespeare shows in various NYC parks. These revivals don't require tickets or reservations, are engaging and accessible, and often clock in at less than two hours, so your kids have a better chance of making it all the way through (and if they don't, just leave quickly and quietly—no money wasted!).

I started taking my daughter to outdoor Shakespeare when she was 7 and now, as a teen, she's totally hooked. Here are nine FREE classic shows to enjoy with your kids this summer, plus tips on how to make the most of the experience, and the lowdown on how to get tickets to Shakespeare in the Park if that's atop your list. Find all our picks for kid-friendly theater no matter the season in our Guide to Children's Theater in New York City.

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Click through to our listings for all the details, including schedule and location. Remember, performances may be canceled due to inclement weather or illness, so be sure to check the show's official website before heading out.

Shakespeare in the Park 2023 & More Classics for Kids

1. Hudson Classical Theater Company: The Importance of Being Earnest – Upper West Side

FREE, no tickets required but post-show donations are encouraged
Thursday, June 1-Sunday, June 25
Ages 8 and up
Introduce your tykes to the wit of Oscar Wilde with this alfresco mounting of The Importance of Being Earnest. A comedy of manners, it chronicles the convoluted relationships between two couples, as two suitors don alter egos to woo the women they love. Presented at Riverside Park's Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument by Hudson Classical Theater Company, it's a fast and funny farce, full of misunderstandings, mistaken identities, and outrageous characters. Even if your kids don't follow every twist and turn, they should get the gist. Cushions are provided and it starts at a bedtime-friendly 6:30pm!

RELATED: 100 Free Things To Do in NYC this Summer with Kids

Smith Street Stage presents a modern interpretation of As You Like It in Carroll Park. Photo by James Jin

2. Smith Street Stage: As You Like It – Carroll Gardens

FREE, no tickets required but post-show donations are encouraged
Wednesday, June 7-Sunday, June 25
Ages 8 and up
Head to Carroll Park for Smith Street Stage's modern-day LGBTQ spin on one of the Bard's most lovable romantic comedies, as banished outsiders find camaraderie and couple off in the Forest of Arden. Deception, disguise, and gender-bending are baked into the Bard's poetry—leading lady Rosalind spends much of the play posing as a young man, which leads to hilarity, heartache, and eventually a happy ending. Streamlined to an hour and 45 minutes, As You Like It is a perfect first Shakespeare experience. And if your kids get restless, decamp to the playground nearby. Arrive at least a half-hour early to snag one of the 100 folding chairs.

RELATED: Free Summer Fireworks Shows in NYC for Families

Actors are deep in rehearsal prepping for The Public Theater’s Shakespeare in the Park production of Hamlet. Photo by Joan Marcus

3. Shakespeare in the Park 2023: Hamlet – Central Park

FREE but tickets are required
Thursday, June 8-Sunday, August 6
Ages 10 and up
The Public Theater's FREE Shakespeare in the Park is a rite of summer in NYC. It's magical to watch high-quality Shakespeare with big stars under the stars at Central Park's Delacorte Theater. (Sometimes even the raccoons get in on the action!) There are usually two shows each summer, but for 2023 there's just one: Hamlet, centering on the brooding and conflicted Prince of Denmark, who's visited by the ghost of his recently departed dad who demands his son avenge his murder. It's as tragic as the Bard gets, with Hamlet slowly losing his grip while hurting those around him, including his fragile girlfriend Ophelia, her pompous papa Polonius and his own mother Gertrude, who wed her late husband's brother. Plus, it ends in a bloodbath. Best for tweens and up, this production certainly boasts quite the pedigree. It's directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon and stars Tony nominee Ato Blankson-Wood as the title character, along with acclaimed actors Lorraine Toussaint and John Douglas Thompson as his mother and uncle-turned-stepfather.

How to Get Shakespeare in the Park Tickets

Unlike most of the other shows on our list, Shakespeare in the Park requires tickets. There are multiple ways to vie for them:

• Wait in line in person at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at noon every day there is a performance.
• Enter the in-person lottery at The Public Theater every day there is a performance—it starts accepting entries at 11am and pulls winners at noon.
• Attend one of the ticket distribution events in the five boroughs—locations, dates, and times are on The Public's website.
• Enter the digital lottery via TodayTix before noon every day there is a performance.
• Join the standby line at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park starting at 6pm every day there is a performance.

4. New York Classical Theatre: Richard III – Multiple Locations

FREE, no tickets required but post-show donations are encouraged
Tuesday, June 13-Sunday, July 9
Ages 10 and up
Since 2000, New York Classical Theatre has been presenting some of the most family-friendly Shakespeare in town. No seats or stage here; the productions take place throughout Central Park, Carl Schurz Park, and Brooklyn Commons. Audiences literally follow the action from location to location and the concept has earned the company the nickname "Shakespeare on the Run." (Comfortable shoes are a must!) Kids absolutely love chasing the actors and at times performers even break the fourth wall to keep younger viewers engaged. Plus, the shows are cut down to two hours. This summer, New York Classical Theatre is mounting an all-female, gender-fluid Richard III, which is one of the Bard's bloodier history plays as the title character kills anyone blocking his way to the crown. It's definitely best for tweens and up and boning up on the convoluted royal relationships in advance is a must. Bring your own blankets or beach chairs.

5. Hudson Classical Theater Company: The School for Scandal – Upper West Side

FREE, no tickets required but post-show donations are encouraged
Thursday, June 29-Sunday, July 23
Ages 10 and up
Hudson Classical Theater Company returns to Riverside Park's Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument with another comedy of manners, Richard Brinsley Sheridan's The School for Scandal. Much like Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, this 18th-century staple features mistaken identities, manipulation, alter egos, and gossip that causes all kinds of chaos. Come early to snag one of the cushions.

6. The Classical Theatre of Harlem: Malvolio – Harlem

FREE, no tickets required but post-show donations are encouraged.
Saturday, July 8-Saturday, July 29
Ages 10 and up
The first Shakespeare production my daughter ever saw was CTH's A Midsummer Night's Dream back in 2013. The company edits the shows down to a brisk 90-or-so minutes, uses rainbow and gender-blind casting, and performs under the night sky in Marcus Garvey Park. This summer's offering is actually a brand-new sequel to Shakespeare's Twelfth Night centering on that play's pretentious and put-upon steward Malvolio, who has become a celebrated general. But a cross-dressing woman named Volina threatens to upend his success. Billed as a comedy, Malvolio sounds like great fun—he's long been one of Shakespeare's funniest fools.

RELATED: 50 Best Things To Do this Summer in NYC

7. The Drilling
Company: The Comedy of Errors – Lower East Side

FREE, no tickets required but post-show donations are encouraged
Thurday, July 20-Saturday, July 29
Ages 8 and up
The Drilling Company, which has been presenting no-cost alfresco Shakespeare in NYC since the turn of the century, presents Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors as part of the troupe's popular (and brilliantly titled) Shakespeare in the Parking Lot series. One of the Bard's most beloved comedies, it's a laugh-out-loud and easy-to-follow romp about two sets of identical twins with identical names who were separated at birth and end up in the same small town, confusing everyone...including themselves! It's a riot watching two actors take on four parts..

Hip to Hip Theatre Company presents interactive pre-performance workshops for kids. Photo by Julian Voloj

8. Hip to Hip Theatre Company: The Comedy of Errors – Queens & Staten Island

FREE, no tickets required but post-show donations are encouraged
Wednesday, August 2-Saturday, August 26
Ages 8 and up
This Queens-based troupe's mission is to mount free, family-friendly classics in public spaces, mostly in its home borough. Its Shakespeare productions are usually cut down to 90 minutes, and every performance is preceded by a 30-minute Kids & the Classics interactive workshop, so young audiences can learn more about the Bard. This summer, Hip to Hip Theatre Company is presenting two Shakespeare plays in rep: the rarely done drama The Tragedy of Richard II, and the much more family-friendly The Comedy of Errors. Bring your own blankets or beach chairs.

9. Public Works: The Tempest – Central Park

FREE but tickets are required.
Sunday, August 27-Sunday, September 3
Ages 8 and up
Yes, this production is presented by The Public Theater and takes place at Central Park's Delacorte Theater, but it is not a Shakespeare in the Park show. Part of the theater's Public Works initiative, it's Shakespeare for and by the people, a streamlined, musical adaptation of The Tempest starring professional actors performing alongside hundreds of everyday New Yorkers from all five boroughs. Even though this play explores themes of revenge, betrayal, and slavery (sorcerer Prospero has imprisoned two island souls to do his bidding), it's also enchanting, romantic, and, when clowns Trinculo and Stephano are around, quite hilarious. And it has a happy ending that embraces forgiveness. It's the free summer show I'm most excited about because these offerings of inclusive, participatory theater are always exhilarating. The Delacorte is about to undergo a massive renovation, so this is the last show you can see here until at least 2025!

How to Get Tickets to The Tempest

Like Shakespeare in the Park, tickets are required and there are multiple ways to vie for them. See our tips above to learn how to vie for them. 

• Wait in line in person at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at noon every day there is a performance.
• Enter the in-person lottery at The Public Theater every day there is a performance—it starts accepting entries at 11am and pulls winners at noon.
• Enter the digital lottery via TodayTix before noon every day when there is a performance.
• Join the standby line at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park from 6pm on every day when there is a performance.

Tips for Taking Kids to Shakespeare in the Park & More Classics

• Wait until they're old enough to appreciate it. We included an age minimum for each show, but you know your child best. Shakespeare and other classics demand patience and focus.
• Choose the show wisely. The Bard's comedies, such as The Comedy of Errors, As You Like It, Much Ado About Nothing, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, are best for first-time Shakespeare audiences. Leave the histories and tragedies until middle school at least. The same goes for classics by other playwrights—comedy is king with kids!
• Discuss the plot in advance. It's helpful for kids to know the story going in. Even though they may not understand every word or reference, they'll still be able to follow the action. SparkNotes' No Fear Shakespeare is a great resource for detailed synopses and even line-by-line translations into contemporary language. Or you can just look up each play (by the Bard or other vintage playwrights) on Wikipedia.
• Bring snacks and water. Keeping the kids hydrated and full should help them make it through.
• Bring jackets and insect repellent, too. It can get cold and buggy out there at night.
• Try to grab an aisle seat. That way you can make a quick exit if necessary.

Originally published in 2015.