Acting student Trí Lê has been cast in the ensemble of Shakespeare in the Park’s 2023 production of Hamlet. Performances will run at the open-air Delacorte Theater from June 6–August 8, with the opening night set for June 28, 2023.
Hamlet, often referred to as Shakespeare’s masterpiece, will be directed by Kenny Leon with a contemporary twist for Shakespeare in the Park’s free nine-week run. Leon’s direction sets the play in 2021; he expressed that the present-day context, which is “filled with all of the challenges we face as Americans,” allows for exploration of “our need to love more profoundly both nature and its people.” Hamlet’s story of family, betrayal, and revenge is taken on by Leon after his successful production of Much Ado About Nothing for Shakespeare in the Park’s 2019 season.
Shakespeare in the Park, a division of The Public Theater, has been in operation for over six decades, distributing free tickets for Shakespeare productions at the Delacorte since the theater’s construction and opening in 1962. Hamlet will be the final production in the Delacorte Theater before it undergoes renovations in the fall of this year; the renovations will focus on providing increased accessibility for audiences and artists with disabilities, ensuring resistance and sustainability of the materials used for the open-air theater as it endures inclement weather, and streamlining backstage operations. The Public Theater’s Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis, expressed that “Hamlet will be a beautiful salute to the city as we head into a season where we will be renewing and renovating our beautiful home.”
Trí Lê (he/him) is an Asian/American artist dedicated to sharing the vast experiences inherent in AAPI and minority narratives. He believes that through empathy reflected onstage and onscreen, we can help build a more caring society. He is currently based in NYC and dreams of life as a working actor.
Information about the free distribution of tickets for Hamlet can be accessed here.
