The best free and cheap theater in NYC this summer

Through July 6
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 concludes its run in Battery Park (July 1–6). Attendance is free, but reservations are suggested.

July 5 through 27 
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.

July 8 through 26
The very busy Shayok Misha Chowdhury (Public Obscenities) directs the first major New York restaging of this 1985 Pulitzer Prize finalist: a Pentecostal gospel retelling of Sophocles's Oedipus story by librettist Lee Breuer (of the venerable avant-garde troupe Mabou Mines) and composer Bob Telson. "Duke of Gospel" James Hall is the music director and choir leader; the cast includes Stephanie Berry (in the preacher role originated by Morgan Freeman), Davóne Tines and Frank Senior as Oedipus, gospel singer Kim Burrell as Theseus, Samantha Howard as Antigone, Ayana George Jackson as Ismene, Jon-Michael Reese as Polyneices, Dr. Kevin Bond as Creon, Brandon Michael Nase as Balladeer and R&B artist Serpentwithfeet as Friend. 

July 31 through August 3 
The Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog/Underdog) and her band, the Joyful Noise, share original songs and short plays in a Little Island summer hangout billed as "a punk-couture medicine show for the people." Frequent Parks collaborator Niegel Smith directs; guests at the party include Rona Figueroa, Leland Fowler, Danyel Fulton, Lance Coadie Williams and tap queen Ayodele Casel.

August 2 through September 14
Theater for the New City takes its 49th annual Street Theater Company show on the road, bringing agitprop to outdoor locations throughout the five boroughs. Crystal Field and Peter Dizozza's family-friendly (but fascism-hostile!) satirical musical, directed by Field, celebrates diversity, immigration and the welcoming torch of Lady Liberty. Michael David Gordon stars as a Guyanan-American bogeda owner; the cast of 22 is buttressed by giant puppets, moving scenery and a five-piece band led by Dizozza. Visit TNC's website to find out where and when the show is playing.

August 7 through September 14 
After taking last summer off for renovations to the open-air Delacorte Theater in Central Park, the Public Theater's cherished annual series Shakespeare in the Park returns with one of the Bard's most popular plays: an ever-popular comedy of cross-purposes, cross-dressing and cross-gartered socks. Resident director Saheem Ali (Buena Vista Social Club) directs a starry cast: Lupita Nyong’o and her brother Junior Nyong'o as Viola and Sebastian, nearly-identical siblings separated by a shipwreck; Sandra Oh as the mourning noblewoman who takes a shine to Viola when she is dressed as a boy; and Peter Dinklage, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Khris Davis, Bill Camp, Daphne Rubin-Vega and Moses Sumney as various figures in the lovely Olivia's orbit. Tickets are, as always, free; see our complete guide to Shakespeare in the Park tickets for details.

August 9 |

Battery Dance returns to its former home turf at Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, which has been closed for rebuilding for the past couple years, to offer a first course for this year's 44th annual edition of the free outdoor Battery Dance Festival. The troupe's performance of Rutkay Özpinar's Frontiers is part of an hour-long program that also includes the venerable Limón Dance Company in José Limón's 1964 classic A Choreographic Offering, as well as tap dancing by John Manzari and a ceremonial introduction by the Native American dancer Marie Poncé.

August 12 through 16 
After a special program to celebrate the reopening of Robert F. Wagner Jr. Park, the free annual Battery Dance Festival moves to the North Esplanade of Rockefeller Park for a week of performances by a mix of local and international companies, performing outdoors near the sparkling water at sunset. The lineup for the 44th edition features multiple U.S. or world premieres, and the participating artists include visitors from the Netherlands, India, Bangladesh, Spain, South Korea and Germany, Taiwan, Romania and Indonesia. The slate includes an August 15 program that celebrates five dance traditions of the southwestern Indian state Kerala: Kalaripayattu, Kutiyattam, Kathakali, Mohiniyattam and Theyyam. All six shows are general admission, and there's a rain date on Sunday, August 17.

August 29 through September 2
This one isn't outdoors, but it's in that spirit. The Public Theater's civically ambitious Public Works series, which collaborates with multiple New York communities to create large-scale theater, soldiers on with songwriter-playwright Troy Anthony's new concert adapatation of one of Shakespeare's strangest plays: a kind of Ancient Mediterranean Flash Gordon adventure (often co-attributed to Elizabethan ne'er-do-well George Wilkins) that includes shipwrecks, contests to win a princess’s hand, a pirate abduction, a virgin in a brothel and a guest shot by the goddess Diana. Carl Cofield directs the production, which is performed at the impressive Cathedral of St. John the Divine in Morningside Heights. Casting of the principal roles—usually played by professional actors, leading an army of amateurs—has not yet been announced.

September 6 through 28
The internationally acclaimed operatic countertenor Anthony Roth Costanzo (Akhnaten) plays the titular demented opera diva in a rare revival of a 1983 comic melodrama by Ridiculous Theatrical Company's queer auteur Charles Ludlam. Eric Ting (The Comeuppance) directs this outdoor production, which is the final major offering of Little Island's ambitious 2025 summer season.