One of the finest cultural experiences around, Shakespeare in the Park isn’t only one of the best things about summer in the city, but about the city as a whole — and has been since 1962.

If you snoozed and didn’t catch this summer’s first performance “Romeo and Juliet,” Metromix pal and opinionated theater authority (and all-around lovely young man) Aaron Leichter weighs in on what you missed:

"If you’ve been to Shakespeare in the Park before, you already know that the venue pretty much justifies the evening. No matter how good the show is (or how bad – and there’ve been some clunkers), it’s really about Central Park at twilight. When the weather’s fair, even the crickets seem to chirp in iambic pentameter.  Fortunately, this summer’s first Delacorte production, “Romeo and Juliet,” proves equal to the pleasures of its surroundings.

In too many previous summers, the Public Theater has chosen star-power over talent. But this time around they find a balance in Lauren Ambrose, who has gone far beyond her moody role of Claire in “Six Feet Under” in this performance as the impetuous Juliet. Ambrose may be young, but she’s even better onstage than she was on TV: her warm pulse seems visible even from the last row. She and Oscar Isaac (her Romeo) are such a good-looking pair, and they bound across the stage into each other’s arms with such abandon, they’d win the audience over even without some of Shakespeare’s most lyrical lines. The more passion a scene calls for, the better they are.
But then, this play is all about high emotion as well as swift action.

Director Michael Greif (“Rent,” “Grey Gardens”) hurls actors and audience headlong through the evening, following the prologue up with a swordfight. Christopher Evan Welch, as Mercutio, stands out from the activity, and like many in the role before him, he galvanizes the entire cast early on. Camryn Mannheim’s Nurse is a hammy bore, but that disappointment is offset by a surprise turn by Juliet’s father. In that usually forgettable role, Michael Cristofer embodies the volatility that plagues Verona, nearly beating his daughter up when she refuses to marry the suitor he’s chosen.

To accentuate all the leaping, climbing, kissing and fighting, Greif and designer Mark Wendland have covered the stage in water. It’s not clear what the resulting splashes have to do with the play, which includes many metaphors about fire and lightning but none about water. However, it does look inviting (especially during a Gotham heat wave), and it adds one more pleasure an evening full of them."

Shakespeare in the Park's next performance: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” begins August 7th and runs until September 9th. Tickets are free, but you do need a little patience as lines are long (people start lining up when the park opens at 6 a.m.). They start distributing at 1 p.m. at The Delacorte and from 1 to 3 p.m. at The Public Theater. There is a limit of 2 tickets per person

“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” runs from August 7th to September 9th at the Delacorte Theater. Performances Tue. – Sun. at 8 p.m.

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