Since 2000, we’ve presented over 900 free performances for more than 335,000 New Yorkers. In 2025 alone, nearly 9,000 people attended All’s Well That Ends Well—70% of them for the first time. Nearly 20% of our audience lives at or below the NYC poverty line, and more than 25% attend with children.

Your gift keeps theatre free and open, no tickets required, so all New Yorkers—regardless of financial means—can experience the joy and enrichment of live theatre.

Our actors, directors, designers, and stage managers earn union wages with healthcare and pension benefits, allowing them to thrive while creating unforgettable performances. All our crew members earn also receive a living wage.

Your gift supports living wages and benefits, making theatre careers viable in NYC.

Our Panoramic Theatre productions turn parks into stages, with audiences moving scene-to-scene alongside the actors. Critics have called our work “a movable feast.”

Your gift funds costumes, props, rehearsal weeks, and the logistics of staging a fully professional Off-Broadway production outdoors.

There’s nothing like gathering with friends, family, or even your dog to experience Shakespeare against the backdrop of New York’s parks. Our Panoramic Theatre style turns Central Park meadows, Carl Schurz Park lawns, and the Battery’s waterfront into living stages, with audiences moving alongside the actors as the story unfolds. In 2025, nearly 9,000 people joined us for All’s Well That Ends Well—a record-breaking season that included Pride Night, Dog Night, and four Family Nights filled with crown-making, juggling lessons, and games. These events transform performances into civic celebrations, where fireflies, sunsets, and even the sounds of the city become part of the magic.

Your gift sustains one of New York’s most distinctive cultural traditions: professional, free theatre that is at once communal, celebratory, and unmistakably New York.

Launched in 2021, New Visions develops bold new plays inspired by the classics. Cycle 2 of the program has already received nearly 400 submissions from playwrights nationwide, with at least 50% of roles written for people of color.

Your gift invests in playwrights from historically excluded communities and helps reshape the classical canon.

In 2025, our first Student Matinee welcomed over 300 students from six schools, while our Senior Matinee confirmed over 200 older adults for a special performance – with seats provided!

Your gift provides curriculum guides, study materials, chairs, and talkbacks so seniors and students can access theatre on their terms.

What It Costs
Producing a free, fully professional summer production in New York City costs over $250,000—and with no ticket sales, every dollar comes from supporters like you. Your generosity makes it possible for thousands of New Yorkers to enjoy world-class theatre without financial barriers.

Support Free Theatre in NYC

• $500 builds two new costumes for a summer show.

• $1,000 underwrites a brilliant classical actor’s performance for one week.

• $2,500 sponsors a student or senior matinee, giving hundreds the chance to experience Shakespeare.

• $5,000 sponsors one of our Family Nights, complete with pre-show activities that welcome kids and parents alike into the world of classical theatre.