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‘Hamlet’ Cast Gather For Photo At NYC’s Shakespeare In The Park

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 28: (L-R) Tyrone Mitchell Henderson, Brandon Gill, John Douglas Thompson, Lauryn Hayes, Lance Alexander Smith, Safiya Harris, Colby Lewis, Solea Pfeiffer, Ato Blankson-Wood, Cornelius McMoyler, Laughton Royce, Lark White, Nick Rehberger, Myxolydia Tyler, Mitchell Winter and Warner Miller attend the Opening Night Of Free Shakespeare In The Park's "Hamlet" at Delacorte Theater on June 28, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

The cast of Hamlet posed for a group picture on their opening night for one of New York’s most beloved traditions, Free Shakespeare In the Park, at the Delacorte Theatre.

Kenny Leon’s production of Hamlet gives a modern take on the classic Shakespeare play of family and betrayal and stars Ato Blankson-Wood, as the titular character.

When he was asked about the “contemporary post-2020 Hamlet,” Blankson-Wood told TimeOut that part of what’s incorporated in the play is the “racial reckoning that happened during the pandemic.”

“Something else we’re wrestling with is the ways we are implicated in systems and the ways we’re lending energy to things that are destructive,” he continued. “The pandemic allowed us the time to really look in the mirror and not hide from ourselves. So I think there’s something really bare and naked about our production.”

This isn’t the first time Blankson-Wood has performed at the Delacorte, his first gig was performed there as he joined the cast of Hair in 2008. He later returned to the Central Park stage to play major Shakespeare roles, such as Orlando in As You Like It and Orsino in Twelfth Night.

Similar to Blankson-Wood, Tony Award-winning director Leon also has a history with the Delacorte Theatre. In 2019, he directed Much Ado About Nothing.

Hamlet will be performed until August 6. Free tickets are available here.