THE DELACORTE THEATER REVITALIZATION
RETURNING BOLDER AND BRIGHTER AUGUST 2025!
The Delacorte Theater in Central Park has provided millions of New Yorkers and visitors access to extraordinary theater—for free—for over 60 years at Free Shakespeare in the Park. Now, after an 18-month renovation, the theater will reopen this summer bolder and brighter than ever before with a celebratory, star-studded production of TWELFTH NIGHT.
This ambitious project has been made possible by FOREVER PUBLIC, a $175 million fundraising campaign supporting The Delacorte Revitalization and The Public's free theater initiatives.
Stay updated on the latest renovation news, activity planned for summer 2025!
THEATER SEAT INSTALLATION MARCH - MAY 2025
HELP US REBUILD AND REIMAGINE
The Public Theater is undertaking the most significant Capital Campaign in our history to renovate The Delacorte Theater and make it a more welcoming theater for its extraordinary artists and audiences.
For a gift of $5,000 or more you can make your mark on history and name a seat at The Delacorte Theater.
At the top of the grandstand, the production booth near completion. This is where the stage manager will call the show and the lighting and sound board operators will execute their cues and mix the show. With the renovation, for the first time, the booth is accessible to cultural workers with disabilities, thanks to the addition of a LULA lift.
From the production booth looking down onto the stage, you'll see that the first of two permanent lighting trusses has been installed upstage left. These structures not only add dimension and flexibility to the lighting design, but also dramatically elevate production value. Before the renovation, similar trusses had to be constructed and removed each season—an intensive process that added weeks of labor. With the new permanent trusses, load-in and load-out are safer and more efficient for crew.
Just below the deck of the stage and next to the permanent lighting truss, the upstage left stage lift has been installed. This fully enclosed stage lift will make it possible for actors and cultural workers with disabilities to access the stage left entrance. This is in addition to the accessible ramp on stage right.
ABOUT THE REVITALIZATION
DRAMATIC IMPROVEMENTS
Built in 1962, the theater has not undergone meaningful capital upgrades since 1999. The plan — a major investment in outdoor cultural space as part of New York’s economic recovery — will dramatically improve the home of Free Shakespeare in the Park.This design comprehensively addresses the theater’s outstanding code and safety needs, makes core improvements to infrastructure and backstage efficiency, and makes meaningful upgrades to support its theatrical program. The design is also contextual and maintains The Delacorte’s current form, footprint, and views within the park while protecting the sanctity of the theater in the park experience.
We are thrilled to work with our longtime partner once again, Ennead Architects. Ennead oversaw the revitalization of the facade and public spaces at our flagship location on Lafayette Street in 2012 and the recent renovation of the Rehearsal Annex. Ennead has led many other marquee cultural revitalization projects in New York, including the Brooklyn Museum entry pavilion and plaza, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Symphony Space, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall, and the Rose Center for Earth and Space at the American Museum of Natural History. This continued relationship is based on shared commitments to creating spaces that center radical welcome and equity.
WHAT WE PLAN TO DO
The key proposed design includes:
- Ramps for audiences and more accessible seating
- Accessible box office and concessions booths
- Modified stage and work areas for artists, company members, and staff
- Improved building and wayfinding signage
- A stunning façade built using reclaimed redwood from decommissioned water tanks across New York City
- Water protection and drainage systems to reduce flooding and improve water mitigation
- Newly designed lighting towers improving lighting for the stage and performances
A HOME FOR FREE THEATER
With over six decades of operation, including the recent staging of the widely-acclaimed performances of Merry Wives, Much Ado About Nothing, Public Works' Hercules, Twelfth Night, and Public Works' As You Like It, and more than five million tickets distributed, Free Shakespeare in the Park is one of New York City’s most iconic cultural experiences.
Conceived by founder Joseph Papp as a way to make great theater accessible to all, The Delacorte Theater officially opened in Central Park on June 18, 1962, with The Merchant of Venice, directed by Papp and Gladys Vaughan and featuring George C. Scott as Shylock. The Merchant of Venice was followed that summer by a production of The Tempest, directed by Gerald Freedman and featuring Paul Stevens as Prospero and James Earl Jones as Caliban. The first Delacorte summer season concluded with King Lear, directed by Papp and Vaughan and featuring Frank Silvera as Lear. Since then more than 150 productions have been presented for free at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park.
The Delacorte project is publicly and privately funded with $42 million contributed by the New York City Mayor, City Council, and Manhattan Borough President, as well as $1 million from New York Assembly Member O’Donnell. The Public also wishes to acknowledge State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal and NYC Parks who have contributed funding to the Central Park Conservancy’s Delacorte restroom renovation project. The Public is enormously grateful to those who have supported this project, including its generous Board of Trustees and donors.
The Public Theater, in partnership with the Central Park Conservancy, NYC Parks, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, is proud to lead this historic revitalization. This work will ensure The Delacorte remains part of this great city for future generations.