Free arts and culture this week in NYC

A determined young woman doggedly pursues the uninterested object of her affections—whose hand in marriage she has been granted by a grateful king—in Shakespeare's rarely produced comedy, a romance so problematic that its title verges on sarcasm. Stephen Burdman directs this peripatetic production for his industrious New York Classical Theatre; the cast of eight includes Anique Clements as the dauntless Helena, Paul Deo Jr. as the heedless Bertram, Karel Heřmánek Jr. as the feckless Parolles and Nick Salamone and Carine Montbertran as well-intentioned nobles. The show kicks off in Central Park (June 3–22) before moving east to Carl Schurz Park (June 24–29) and south to Battery Park (July 1–6). Attendance is free, but reservations are suggested.

Classical Theatre of Harlem's annual series of free outdoor performances in Marcus Garvey Park—also known as Uptown Shakespeare in the Park—presents an original neoclassical work by playwright Will Power and director Carl Cofield, who also collaborated on CTH's 2021 summer offering, the Richard III riff Seize the King. The play focuses on a figure who is often overlooked in tales of the Trojan War: the Ethiopian king and demigod Memnon—not to be confused with the Greek king Agamemnon—who led a large contingent in Troy's defense before falling to that notorious heel Achilles. Eric Berryman essays the title role, flanked by a cast that includes Andrea Patterson, Jesse J. Perez as Priam, David Darrow and Jesse Corbin. Tickets are free but reservations are strongly suggested.

For the middle show of its summer schedule, Hudson Classical Theater Company presents an outdoor production of Jane Austen's 1811 debut novel, in which sisters of meager fortune and markedly different temperaments seek husbands of suitable station. The adaptation is by the company's executive artistic director, Susane Lee, who has a penchant for 19th-century books. (She also adapted the company's suite of plays based on the adventure tales of Alexandre Dumas, père.) Attendance is free and reservations are not required.

The longevous Boomerang Theatre Company returns—as, true to its name, it is wont to do!—with a free Central Park staging of Shakespeare's lyrical portrait of the last Plantagenet king, a unfortunate weakling who gets sent to the Tower after making an unpopular land deal (setting off a splitting of heirs that eventually leads to the War of the Roses, as chronicled in Shakespeare's other history plays). Aimee Todoroff directs the production, which stars Broken Box Mime Theater's Tasha Milk in the title role. Performances are at 2pm on weekends, and tickets can be reserved in advance.