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The Arts Intel Report

A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler
A Cultural Compass
For the World Traveler

The Classical Theater of Harlem: Twelfth Night

Feb 11–19, 2023
566 LaGuardia Pl, New York, NY 10012

Last summer, there was a great Plan B for Manhattanites who didn’t have all day to stand in line or the C-notes for patron tickets for “free” Shakespeare in (Central) Park. You could just hop a train uptown and walk right in (no tickets required, donations accepted at the exit) to the Richard Rodgers Amphitheater at Marcus Garvey Park for Classical Theater of Harlem’s free Twelfth Night. This, you’ll recall, is the gender-fluid Shakespeare free-for-all in which the shipwrecked Viola of Messaline cross-dresses as a boy, causing no end of erotic confusion. The cast was nimble, the designs were fresh, and the original music was sheer delight. People were over the moon. There were even fireflies! You missed it? Well, here’s an indoor wintertime reprise in Greenwich Village. You’ll have to spring for a ticket this time, but the pricing is family-friendly—and so’s the show. Bring the kids. —Matthew Gurewitsch