{"id":292066,"date":"2026-07-10T04:22:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:22:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/292066\/"},"modified":"2026-07-10T04:22:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-10T04:22:11","slug":"10-free-shows-in-new-york-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/292066\/","title":{"rendered":"10 Free Shows in New York This Summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Broadway tickets have never been more expensive, but that shouldn\u2019t keep you, a New Yorker on a budget, from enjoying world-class entertainment. That\u2019s especially true in the summer, when the city\u2019s parks (and parking lots) transform into stages. Here are my recommendations for 10 outdoor shows to see in New York this summer\u2014all completely free of charge.<\/p>\n

\"\"Thane Madsen and Katy Castaldi star in the Boomerang Theatre Company production of Shakespeare\u2019s The Taming of the Shrew.
(\u00a9 Boomerang Theatre Company)<\/p>\n

1.The Taming of the Shrew<\/a> (through July 19)
Boomerang Theatre Company returns to Central Park (specifically the lawn near the 69th Street entrance at Central Park West) for Shakespeare\u2019s tale of Kate, an independent-minded woman who just happens to be living in Renaissance Padua and is therefore deemed a \u201cshrew,\u201d and Petruchio, the man who sets out to \u201ctame\u201d her. Is it Shakespearean misogyny or a timeless battle of wills that reflects the massive gulf between the sexes that seems to have only widened in 2026?<\/p>\n

2. Hamlet<\/a> (through July 19)
Nicholas Martin-Smith, founding artistic director of Hudson Classical Theater Company, directs this fresh take on Shakespeare\u2019s tragedy of the dispossessed prince of Denmark with three actors in the title role. Performing all its free summer productions on the back patio of the Soldiers\u2019 and Sailors\u2019 Monument in Riverside Park, Hudson Classical has developed a reputation for thrilling up-close stage combat, so you\u2019ll definitely want to stick around for the final scene.<\/p>\n

\"\"James Udom and Nick Westrate star in William Shakespeare\u2019s Othello, directed by Carl Cofield, for the Classical Theatre of Harlem at Marcus Garvey Park.
(\u00a9 Richard Termine)<\/p>\n

3. Othello<\/a> (through July 26)
Classical Theatre of Harlem takes on the Moor of Venice, Shakespeare\u2019s great tragedy of resentment and paranoia, which has gotten a lot of play in recent years, though I cannot imagine why. TheaterMania\u2019s Kenji Fujishima calls<\/a> this new staging from director Carl Cofield the best of the bunch\u2014and you don\u2019t even have to drop $900 on a ticket<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Broadway by the Boardwalk takes place every Monday at Clinton Cove in Hudson River Park.
(\u00a9 Hudson River Park)<\/p>\n

4. Broadway by the Boardwalk<\/a> (July 13-August 10)
This series of free concerts at Clinton Cove in Hudson River Park (just follow 55th Street until you reach the river) kicks off on Monday at 6:30pm with Max von Essen accompanied by Billy Stritch. The following Monday, newly minted Tony winner Ali Louis Bourzgui will perform on his day off from The Lost Boys. Each concert will also feature a special opening act, dubbed \u201cStepping Into the Spotlight,\u201d highlighting Broadway\u2019s understudies. It\u2019s a great way to catch tomorrow\u2019s Tony winners set against the backdrop of a Hudson River sunset. See the full schedule here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"Andy Rowell (Touchstone), Lia Bonfilio (Rosalind), director Hamilton Clancy, Emanuel Elpenord (Oliver), and Dave Marantz (Jaques) appear in the Shakespeare in the Parking Lot production of As You Like It.
(\u00a9 Jonathan Slaff)<\/p>\n

5. As You Like It<\/a> (July 16 \u2013 August 1)
The Forest of Arden sprouts in a Lower East Side car park in this \u201cShakespeare in the Parking Lot\u201d production from the Drilling Company. Director Hamilton Clancy reimagines Shakespeare\u2019s play for the artists and freethinkers of today who seek to escape an authoritarian court obsessed with low spectacle\u2014the exact kind of people who used to be able to afford to live on the Lower East Side.<\/p>\n

\"HudsonClassical\"The audience at Hudson Classical Theater Company sits on the steps of the back patio of the Soldiers\u2019 and Sailors\u2019 Monument.
(\u00a9 Susane Lee)<\/p>\n

6.The Dancing Men<\/a> (July 23 \u2013 August 14)
Hudson Classical wraps its summer season at the Soldiers\u2019 and Sailors\u2019 Monument with executive artistic director Susane Lee\u2019s new adaptation of an Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes story. Lee has previously (and excellently) adapted The Three Musketeers<\/a>, Twenty Years Later<\/a>, and The Man in the Iron Mask<\/a> for the company. It\u2019s easiest to enter Riverside Park at West 89th Street.<\/p>\n

\"\"The Winter\u2019s Tale will be staged at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.
(\u00a9 Jeff Goldberg\/Esto)<\/p>\n

7. The Winter\u2019s Tale<\/a> (July 25-August 23)
The OG Shakespeare in the Park is back and running at full capacity, with two productions at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The second of the summer is The Winter\u2019s Tale: Ra\u00fal Esparza and Lily Rabe play the King and Queen of Sicily in this \u201cproblem play\u201d about jealousy, mistaken identity, and the irrepressible power of love. Tony winner Daniel Sullivan, one of the great interpreters of Shakespeare working today, directs. Even if you didn\u2019t quite fall in love with this summer\u2019s earlier production of Romeo & Juliet<\/a>, you won\u2019t want to miss this one.<\/p>\n

\"hiptphip\"Hip to Hip Theatre Company tours parks in Queens, Long Island, and New Jersey.
(\u00a9 Hip to Hip Theatre Company)<\/p>\n

8. As You Like It and Macbeth<\/a> (July 28 \u2013 August 19)
This is technically two shows playing in repertory in locations across Queens, Long Island, and New Jersey. The ambitious troupe behind this tour is Hip to Hip Theatre Company, which is now in its 20th anniversary season. This summer they are pairing Shakespeare\u2019s famous Scottish tragedy with his delightful pastoral comedy. It\u2019s the Forest of Arden and Birnam Wood come to 10 different area parks. Find out which ones by browsing the complete tour schedule here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"\"A moment from the 2025 Legacy Ball, hosted by Qween Jean.
(\u00a9 V. Nina Westervelt)<\/p>\n

9. Qween Jean\u2019s Summer Legacy Ball<\/a> (August 1)
Now in its third year, this is a ballroom competition on Little Island with categories like \u201cFace,\u201d \u201cTag Team Runway,\u201d and \u201cExecutive Realness.\u201d Our host is Qween Jean, Tony Award winner<\/a> for her dazzling costumes<\/a> for Cats: The Jellicle Ball<\/a>. If you can\u2019t afford a ticket to Broadway, you can still enjoy some of the most sickening looks and devastating beauty New York City has to offer during this one-night-only event.<\/p>\n

\"\"Naomi Lorrain and Sahr Ngaujah starred in last season\u2019s Moli\u00e8re in the Park production of The Imaginary Invalid at the LeFrak Center Lakeside at Prospect Park.
(\u00a9 Russ Rowland)<\/p>\n

10. Don Juan<\/a> (August 14 preview, full run September 5-27)
You\u2019ve heard of Shakespeare in the Park, but what about Moli\u00e8re? As summer fades into fall, Moli\u00e8re in the Park presents the French comic master\u2019s spin on the legendary libertine, whose appetite for vice remains unquenched even as the sound of doom draws near. A special preview will perform in Brooklyn\u2019s Domino Park on August 14 ahead of the full run at Prospect Park\u2019s LeFrak Center at Lakeside in September. The relatively young company received two Drama Desk nominations for last season\u2019s The Imaginary Invalid, so I\u2019m eager to see what they pull off with this one.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Broadway tickets have never been more expensive, but that shouldn\u2019t keep you, a New Yorker on a budget,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":292067,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[98,100,99,9,24,63],"class_list":["post-292066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn","tag-brooklyn-headlines","tag-brooklyn-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292066\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/292067"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}