The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit which strengthens community engagement with the arts by bringing free, world-class productions to communities all across New York City, journeys through tragedy into comedy with an enchanting new production of THE WINTER’S TALE, directed by Lee Sunday Evans (Caught, Porto).

Dire misunderstanding changes the course of destiny when King Leontes becomes convinced that his wife is pregnant with his friend’s child. The maligned wife perishes, the accused friend flees, and the cursed infant is left to die alone on the shore. But from the depths of tragedy, wondrous things can occur. What’s lost is found, false identities lead to true love, and the miracle of forgiveness brings new life to the world in one of Shakespeare’s most treasured romances.

Featuring Justin Cunningham (Leontes), Christopher Ryan Grant (Antigonus, Old Shepherd), Nina Grollman (Young Shepherd), Nicholas Hoge (Polixenes), Patrena Murray (Paulina), Chris Myers (Florizel), Sathya Sridharan (Camillo), Ayana Workman (Perdita), and Stacey Yen (Hermione)

The city’s best purveyor of free theater is back and sharing its abundant wealth with the masses. The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit presents William Shakespeare’s romance The Winter’s Tale for a four-week run. Directed by Lee Sunday Evans, this bare-bones and youthful production has been touring for three weeks around all five boroughs performing in prisons, homeless shelters, community centers and libraries. The best part? Every performance at The Public Theater is completely free of charge via digital lottery TodayTix. The story, like so much of Shakespeare, takes place in a faraway land, involves a foolish king driven to madness by jealousy, contains mistaken identities and forbidden love, and features a woman tragically bearing the brunt of her husband’s afflictions. King Leontes (Justin Cunningham) of Sicilia believes his pregnant wife, Hermione (Stacey Yen), is having an affair with his old friend King Polixenes (Nicholas Hoge), visiting from Bohemia. Even after her sincerest protestations that she’s innocent, a promise from the court’s most trusted advisor Paulina (Patrena Murray) that she is faithful, and a verdict by the god Apollo declaring her innocence, he cannot believe …Read more