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Welcome — NY Classical Theatre

Welcome!

We’re so glad you’re here. For 27 seasons, New York Classical Theatre has brought free, professional theatre to parks across New York City, inviting audiences to gather together under the open sky for stories that still challenge, move, and connect us.

Tonight, you are part of that tradition.

This summer, we present our 50th production The Tragedy of Julius Caesar—Shakespeare’s gripping exploration of ambition, loyalty, persuasion, and the fear of a leader who wants to become king. Though written more than 400 years ago, the play continues to speak urgently to the world around us, asking difficult questions about democracy, public responsibility, political violence, and the power of the public.

There is something especially meaningful about experiencing this story in public. In parks across the city, strangers gather side by side to wrestle with these ideas together—not online, not alone, but as a community sharing space, conversation, and live performance in real time.

As always, our performances are completely free and open to all. No tickets, no lines, no barriers—just New Yorkers coming together to experience world-class theatre in the heart of the city.

This season also includes Family Nights with Playday, ‘Rome to Right Now’ evenings with Civics is Sexy, Dog Nights, Pride Night, student and senior matinees, and more—creating new ways for audiences of all ages to engage with the play and with one another.

Whether this is your first NY Classical performance or your fifteenth, thank you for being here and for helping make this work possible.

We hope The Tragedy of Julius Caesar challenges, inspires, and stays with you long after you leave the park.

Enjoy the show,

Stephen Burdman
Founding Artistic Director

About NY Classical

Since 2000, New York Classical Theatre, founded by Stephen Burdman, has brought the magic of classical theatre to life in public spaces across New York City—for free. From beloved Shakespearean works to forgotten classics, our productions transform parks, plazas, and indoor spaces into vibrant arenas for storytelling, making great theatre accessible to all.

Over the past 26 years, NY Classical has presented more than 935 free performances to over 335,000 New Yorkers. By removing financial barriers, we’ve built a diverse, dynamic audience that reflects the city we call home.

In addition to reimagining the classics, NY Classical is expanding the canon itself through New Visions, our play development program that empowers historically excluded voices to define what a “classic” can be.

To learn more about our signature staging style, Panoramic Theatre (which you’re experiencing tonight), click here!

Land Acknowledgement

We congregate on the unceded ancestral land of Lenni-Lenape people. We honor their elders and descendants, the memory of Seneca Village displaced by eminent domain in the design of Central Park, the sanctity of our nation’s earliest and largest African Burial Ground in Lower Manhattan, and the history of the African Grove Theatre in Greenwich Village.

For more information about the land we occupy, the Lenape Center is continuing Lenapehoking, the Lenape homeland, through community, culture and the arts. TheLenapeCenter.com

Environmental Statement

New York Classical Theatre is deeply committed to the restoration of our ecosystem, a reduction in greenhouse gases, and the future of a healthy planet. Our outdoor productions take place in public green spaces and we act as stewards, leaving our parks cleaner than we find them. We actively encourage a re-use/recycle policy at our offices and make every attempt to minimize waste in our productions. All program materials are cellphone based, our lighting/radio equipment is rechargeable, and costumes and props are stored locally and re-used. In addition, we are a proud member of the Broadway Green Alliance, Off-Broadway Chapter.

Leadership

Board of Directors 

Steven Perlstein, Chair
Partner, Kobre & Kim LLP

Jeremy E. Schiffres, Secretary
Sr. Associate Counsel, Commercial Litigation Unit, Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Courtney Mitchell, Treasurer
Vice President-Legal, Principal Finance, Macquarie Capital

Stephen Burdman, Artistic Director
Founder, New York Classical Theatre

Christopher D. Fagan
Administrative Business Partner at Google

David S. Frankel
Retired Partner, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP

William (Bill) Ings
Managing Director, Jennison Associates LLC

Melissa Kuklin
Senior Director of Development, China Institute in America

Dafna Linzer
Executive Vice President and Editorial Director, U.S. News & World Report

Katriana Lopez
Digital Strategist, Oneicity

Samuel Nyitray
Associate, Corporate, Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian, LLP

Sid Ray
Professor of English and Women’s and Gender Studies, Pace University

Nick Salamone
Artistic Associate, New York Classical Theatre
& Partner, The Christmas Decorator

Christina Thompson
Head of Operations - Regulatory Affairs, Google

Jon Lukomnik, Chair Emeritus

Maura Harway, Treasurer Emeritus

Don Mayo, In Memoriam

Advisory Council

Lauren Cangialosi

Eric Emma

Susan Falkove

Paul Michael Fontana

Peter Marks

John Michalski

Do you want to make a real difference to our NYC community in 2025 and beyond?

Help us make Off Broadway theatre accessible for ALL New Yorkers!

We are seeking motivated, passionate people to join NY Classical’s Board of Directors and Advisory Council. Whether your love classic playwrights such as Shakespeare, or want to help redefine what it means to be a “classic” through our New Visions program, we want to hear from you.

You can click HERE for more information or email info@nyclassical.org and we’ll get back to you right away!