Much Ado About Nothing Photos - Off-Broadway

The Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park production of Much Ado About Nothing officially opened tlast night, Monday, June 16. The production will run through Sunday, July 6. Obie Award winner Hamish Linklater and Tony Award nominee Lily Rabe return to the Park as the wise-cracking, would-be lovers Beatrice and Benedick in the beloved romantic comedy. Central Park becomes sun-drenched Sicily at the turn of the last century, where the heat of summer ignites the fevered passions of lovesick ladies in corsets and pining gentlemen spying from the verandah. Three-time Tony winner Jack O'Brien directs this delightful skirmish of wit between two self-declared bachelors tricked by their mischief-making friends into falling in love against their will and in spite of their own hearts. Check out photos from opening night below!

The Public Theater will begin previews on Tuesday, June 3 for MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING, the first show of The Public's 2014 season of free Shakespeare in the Park at the Delacorte. Directed by Jack O'Brien, MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING will run through Sunday, July 6, with an official press opening on Monday, June 16. Below, check out a first look at the cast, including Lily Rabe, Hamish Linklater and Brian Stokes Mitchell, in rehearsal!