Tag: writing

Shakespeare in the Park

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In the middle of Central Park, roughly where 80th Street would be, slightly closer to Central Park West than Fifth Avenue, just below the Great Lawn and just north of Belvedere Castle, sits our theatre – the Delacorte. Whenever I have heard Oskar Eustis welcome us to a performance of Shakespeare in the Park, he remind us that the Delacorte belongs to the city of New York, and sits in our park. Astonishingly, for over 60 years The Public Theater has been putting on world class theatrical productions (mostly Shakespeare, but occasionally other plays and even musicals) at the Delacorte and giving out the majority of the tickets for free. Truly all tickets are free – but those who are able to donate at certain levels to ensure that others can attend at no cost are guaranteed tickets. But more about how to get tickets later – let’s marvel at the experience itself first.

Joseph Papp from The Public Theater first conceived of the idea in 1954, and began with workshops and then free performances on the Lower East Side. In the late 1950s, he moved the performances to the lawn in front of Turtle Pond in Central Park, but did not have permission and was ticketed for eroding the grass. After a legal battle, the city built a theater for the free performances, with the first play performed at the Delacorte being The Merchant of Venice with George C. Scott and James Earl Jones, in 1962.

I haven’t missed a production since 2005, but here are some photos from the past ten years or so. The Delacorte is a large theatre (seats 1,872), and is an outdoor amphitheater. It completed a major renovation in 2025, with a star-studded production of Twelfth Night reopening the theater in late summer. The productions are fully produced professional performances, often featuring well-known stars of stage and screen.

The Delacorte has on occasion allowed guests onstage either before a show begins, or in the case of the musical Hair in 2007, up to dance on stage with the cast during the curtain call (I wish I had a photo of myself from that!). Recently they have also been holding open houses periodically during the summer where you can visit the theater during the day and even take your picture on stage (see HERE). They also introduced a mascot last year, Romeo the Raccoon, who will sometimes visit the line of people waiting for tickets, or appear at family-friendly events (see HERE and HERE for some videos from this year). Why a raccoon? Because raccoons often wander on stage during performances! Photos are strictly forbidden during the performances but allowed during curtain calls (see a video from last year HERE). Note that I met and took my picture with Oskar Eustis a few years ago (photo above). When it rained during the performance (more about that later), he was on stage along with others squeegeeing the stage so that they could resume (photo was posted farther up).

So how do you get the free tickets? Every year check out the most recent information on the Public Theater website for Shakespeare in the Park, but in general the ways are: wait on line in person in the park in the morning (see above – there are separate lines for those requiring ADA accommodations and older adults), enter a lottery in person at the Public Theater downtown on Astor Place, win the online Today Tix lottery, wait in the stand by line to see if tickets are returned by a donor, or go to a borough distribution on select days (always noted on the website). How hard is it to get tickets? It is entirely variable. A production with a well-know star will always be harder to get (for Al Pacino’s The Merchant of Venice, people would camp out on Central Park West late evening to be escorted in to wait in the park once it opened at 6am). Later in the run is always harder than earlier before reviews or word of mouth has drawn attention to the production. A day where it looks like it might rain always makes it easier to get tickets, but there is a chance your performance will be canceled (and since your tickets were free, there is no rescheduling). If it rains a little, they will keep going. If it rains a lot but stops, they might pause the production and pick back up. This summer (2026) it rained a lot, and many performances were canceled, or couldn’t perform the second act (including the very first performance of The Winter’s Tale), and many times people sat in light rain. You can bring a poncho but not have an umbrella open when the performance is happening, as it blocks the views of others behind you.

Over six million people have seen free Shakespeare (and other) performances at the Delacorte. The cartoon below, by Tom Toro, was published in The New Yorker in 2015. It sums up how I feel about the astonishing gift that is Shakespeare in the Park. “Just when you’re about to lose faith in humanity, you see Shakespeare in the Park.”

Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue

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Irving Berlin famously wrote about it in 1933, Judy Garland sang about it in a movie in 1948, and most people have heard of it – New York City’s Easter Parade on Fifth Avenue. But many likely think of this parade in the way that a July 4th event or Macy’s on Thanksgiving deliver it. It is in reality more like a procession, quite unstructured, and anyone can show up in costume or with their cameras to experience this very unique event every Easter Sunday. Originating from the process of dressing up for Easter and promenading from one church to another to see the decorations during the 1800s, it became a formal event in 1890. Today, Fifth Avenue is closed to car traffic on Easter Sunday from 10am to 4pm, and I highly recommend wandering these blocks – whether in your elaborate bonnet or as an admirer of such – if you are able.

The above photos are from Easter 2026. I couldn’t get to the parade early enough to beat the rain, and wondered if anyone would be there. But there were more than I had anticipated, even if the crowds were not what I have experienced in other years. I had realized this spring that I never blogged about this very special event in New York City, and was disappointed when Easter looked to be rainy – but still found it very enjoyable. So if you are ever thinking of attending and it shows rain, don’t be put off! My personal favorite was the dress made from Metrocards (which were retired at the beginning of 2026).

On sunny Easters (I took the photos above on Easter 2025) it can be quite crowded, especially in the blocks immediately around St. Patrick’s Cathedral. It is believed that in the height of the parade’s popularity in the mid-20th century that a million people attended at some point during the six hours Fifth Avenue was pedestrian-only. But more recently estimates are closer to 30,000 – 50,000. If you go to take photos, know that the people in costume want their photo taken; they are there to be seen and appreciated!

I took the photos above on Easter of 2024, another sunny Sunday.

The photos above are from 2023.

The photos above are from 2022. I could keep going back for more memories, as I have seen the Easter parade numerous times and always try to make it to Fifth Avenue to view. If you arrive very early, close to 10AM, or later, 3PM or after, the crowds will be lighter but there may be fewer bonnets and costumes to view as well. But why not get a bonnet and costume and show up if you are able? I think I will one day! Who knows, I might even find myself in the “rotogravure” (basically, in a photo in the Sunday magazine – although these days it would be more likely to be in a photo feature in the New York Times online).

In your Easter bonnet
With all the frills upon it
You’ll be the grandest lady in the Easter parade
I’ll be all in clover
And when they look you over
I’ll be the proudest fellow in the Easter parade

On the avenue
Fifth avenue
The photographers will snap us
And you’ll find that you’re in the rotogravure
Oh, I could write a sonnet
About your Easter bonnet
And of the girl I’m taking to the Easter parade

Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy

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Luna Luna was an open-air museum/amusement park in Hamburg, West Germany that ran from June 4 to August 31, 1987. Created by Austrian artist André Heller, it was an attempt to “create a traveling terrain of modern art, that in the centuries-old principle of the fairground involves people of all ages and educational levels in playful acts”. Heller commissioned around 30 contemporary artists to design the attractions, including Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, Roy Lichtenstein, Salvador Dalí, David Hockney, Kenny Scharf, Roland Topor, Jean Tinguely, and Sonia Delaunay. It was rediscovered and relaunched as a global tour 2023 by Drake (yes, the Canadian singer/rapper) and his entertainment firm DreamCrew with production assistance from Live Nation, and it is currently in New York City’s Hudson Yards at The Shed through March 16, 2025. In this version, called Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy, about half of the original 30 attractions are on display, and many cannot be touched (or ridden) due to their fragility over time. I had a fantastic time when I went recently, and it was perhaps the most joyful immersive art I have ever experienced.

You have to purchase timed tickets (get them directly from The Shed here and use code LUNA20 for 20% off on most days), and you can enter any time during that hour. They don’t care how long you stay in the exhibit, but I think most people would stay an hour or maybe a little longer. I recommend getting your ticket for the the first hour of the day if possible because then there will be no crowds when you first go in. They also offer a more expensive ticket that allows you to enter without waiting at any point during a specific day.

As you enter, you are looking directly at a fantastic full-sized carousel by Keith Haring (you aren’t allowed to ride or this or a few other pieces because of potential damage, but when first displayed full-sized adults were able to ride it). There are also large Haring murals behind the carousel.

You can wander through Roy Lichtenstein’s acrylic fun house maze, and I recommend getting on line for this as soon as you get in, as they only let one or two people go through at a time. They recommend you keep your hands up as you go through this labyrinth because it would be easy to just smack into one of the acrylic walls (and you probably will – I did!). There is a sticky mat to step on before going through this and a few other interactive artworks, both to prevent you from slipping and to keep out dirt that might be on your shoes. Lights change color slowly over time, and it is disorienting in the most fun way. The music you hear when you are in this was composed for the artwork by Philip Glass.

Going into a separate room from the one you first enter, you are immersed in music, lights, and several artworks that periodically turn on and move – a Sonia Delaunay-designed entrance gate, a huge Ferris Wheel by Jean-Michel Basquiat, a swing carousel by Kenny Scharf, and a small carousel by Arik Brauer. None of these can be ridden, but each has its own music and lighting when it activates.

When the Basquiat Ferris Wheel activates, you hear the music that he selected to be played, from the album Tutu by Miles Davis.

Much of the exhibit is unusually kid-friendly for an art installation (it is truly for all ages), especially the Poncili Creacion room, by an art collective from Puerto Rico. There are large soft “body parts” that you can wear to become an oversized kind of fanciful creature.

There is also a room specifically devoted to the history of the original amusement park in Berlin, with lots of memorabilia both from the planning of Luna Luna and from the few weeks it was open to be experienced.

Salvadore Dali contributed a reflecting sphere, which you can enter after stepping on the sticky mat again. The lights and music change over time, and as you walk around all the mirrors reflect an endless array of reflections.

Perhaps my favorite thing was the wedding chapel, conceived by André Heller. Couples are invited to take part in a whimsical wedding ceremony (for example, the exchange of rings involves throwing a hoop, or ring, around the forearm of your partner) and others are invited to be witnesses and shake bells as a form of approval several times during the ceremony. The couple then gets a polaroid picture of themselves and a “marriage certificate.” I took photos and videos of the ceremony I witnessed and then was able to AirDrop all the photos and videos to the couple afterwards (and no, I didn’t know them before this!).

Of course there was a gift shop, with some very very unique items (see above)! I almost purchased the small Haring carousel and am already regretting not doing so. Occasionally while in the installation there would be performance art (also a part of the original Luna Luna park) like a gigantic elephant artwork lumbering around the room, or people fluttering huge butterfly artowrks over your head. You can see some of the performance art as well as the rides in motion in a video reel I posted on Instagram (see it here). Your entrance ticket also allows you access to the Butterfly Bar, which overlooks the installation and has food and drinks for purchase. On Friday nights, for the final hour of the evening, New York jazz musicians take over the soundscape of Luna Luna, improvising to the legendary artworks. All in all, I had a fabulous time and would recommend to everyone. On a deeper level, as is posted in the main room, Heller believed that something like Luna Luna was a way to expose people to art who might not ordinarily be interested in it. I think that if you are already an art lover, there is plenty to think about and study, but for those who are not, these “unconventional guises” truly do provide an entertaining way to enjoy the products of these extraordinary artists.