Featuring Abena, Shola Adewusi, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Pascale Armand, MaYaa Boateng, Phillip James Brannon, Brandon E. Burton, Joshua Echebiri, Branden Lindsay, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Jarvis D. Matthews, Jacob Ming-Trent, Jennifer Mogbock, Julian Rozzell Jr., Kyle Scatliffe, David Ryan Smith, and Susan Kelechi Watson

By Audrey J. Bernard 

The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Jocelyn Bioh’s adaption of Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor called “Merry Wives” officially opened at the outdoor Delacorte Theater Monday, August 9, 2021, to joyful reviews.  Bioh’s re-imagined version takes place in South Harlem, amidst a vibrant and eclectic community of West African immigrants.  Laced with laughter and merriment “Merry Wives” features colorful characters who band together to out trick the neighborhood’s notorious trickster Falstaff who is no match for the “Merry Wives.”

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   This production is an epic homage to the Black experience – a celebration of Black joy, laughter, and vitality – in a New York setting filled with enough heart and soul to fill up Central Park.    Directed by the Public’s celebrated Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director Saheem Ali, the production marks the return of Shakespeare in the Park after the COVID-19 pandemic.    The all-Black production stars Abena, Shola Adewusi, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Pascale Armand, MaYaa Boateng, Phillip James Brannon, Jacob Ming-Trent, Joshua Echebiri, Julian Rozzell Jr., Kyle Scatliffe, David Ryan Smith, and Susan Kelechi Watson alongside ensemble members Brandon E. Burton, Branden Lindsay, Ebony Marshall-Oliver, Jarvis D. Matthews, and Jennifer Mogbock.  

 Merry Wives is scheduled to play through September 17 in Central Park, with free tickets made available through a weekly digital lottery.  For more information, visit PublicTheater.org. (Photos courtesy Simon Luethi and Sean Smith and Getty Images)