This year marks  Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks’ 22nd season of bringing free Shakespeare into city parks and different public and private spaces. The company has performed in countless parks and venues throughout the city.

Artistic director Jennifer Tober says, “We are so fortunate to be able to use not only Oakland, but also Homestead as our playground this year for our Shakespeare birthday bash. For total Shakespeare nerds like us, it’s a blast! This is an opportunity for the public to come and join in the fun, bring a sonnet or Shakespeare piece they’d like to read, and meet and greet the actors and Board members of Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks. 

Week of Will lineup

Ciphers to this Great Accompt | Monday 4/20  — 7:30 PM

Join us at the Glitterbox for our fifth annual puppet slam — an unforgettable evening of live and filmed short puppet performances by local, national, and international artists—all inspired by Shakespeare’s plays, poetry, and life. Tickets required, at Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks

Cupcakes and Couplets | Thursday 4/23 — 6:00 PM

Celebrate Shakespeare’s birthday with sweetness and poetry, with a special guest appearance by Yvonne Hudson as Mrs. Shakespeare.  Join Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks at the Shakespeare statue outside the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh for Cupcakes & Couplets — a joyful community gathering honoring the Bard.

Share sonnets, favorite lines, spontaneous readings, and birthday cheer — plus cupcakes to mark the occasion. Bring – A favorite Shakespeare passage (or just yourself!). A love of sweets and sonnets. A friend who needs a little poetry

This is a free, all-ages celebration. Read, listen, laugh, and toast 460+ years of Shakespeare.

First Folio Viewing | Friday 4/24 – 6:00 PM

Attendees at the Friday Lear reading will have an exclusive opportunity to get up close and personal with the most influential secular book in the history of human print! CMU Libraries will display a very rare copy of the 1623 Folio of Shakespeare’s Complete Works for the event.

King Lear Reading | Fiday 4/24 — 6:00 PM

Join Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks for a special community reading of King Lear alongside a First Folio — one of the most treasured books in literary history.
Gather with fellow theatre lovers, scholars, and community members as we share this epic story of family, power, love, and loss. Whether you read aloud or listen, this is a rare opportunity to engage deeply with one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies. Free and open to the public.

This fall, Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks presents The Merry Wives of Windsor at various city parks, opening September 5th. This joyful farce gets a flamboyant spin — dropping the debaucherous Falstaff into the heart of queer pride! Short on cash, Falstaff pursues the purses of two sharp-witted drag queens. As their husbands’ suspicions rise, the queens cook up a scheme to shame the would-be homewrecker. The hunter becomes the hunted in this silly, subversive look at love and marriage. More details at Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks

Categories: Arts and Ideas, Feature, Preview

Tags: Pittsburgh Shakespeare in the Parks, Week of Will