The Star-Studded Return of New York’s Shakespeare in the Park—and 5 More Outdoor Theater Events Worth Seeing

This summer, New Yorkers will see the return of Shakespeare in the Park after the program took a hiatus in 2024 for renovations of the Delacorte Theater. Since 1962, luminaries including Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, and Pedro Pascal have recited the Bard’s words in the open-air venue for a rapt audience experiencing a beloved warm-weather tradition.

Enjoying theater in the great outdoors is a popular pastime beyond New York City too. Every summer across the USA, companies come together to present classic plays, world premiere operas, and razzle-dazzle musicals to diverse audiences.

“There’s nothing like experiencing live theater under the open sky,” says Tim Bond, the artistic director of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (OSF). “It taps into that ancient tradition of gathering outdoors to hear stories, and it keeps us connected to the roots of where OSF—and really, theater itself—began. It’s timeless, and it’s magic.”

While many companies have moved to indoor facilities (inclement weather can make Chekhov even more melancholy), there are still plenty of opportunities to enjoy theater outside. Many offer free tickets or host school groups and summer youth programs.

Here’s what people can expect from this year’s Shakespeare in the Park program, as well as five other outdoor theater events and venues in the country worth checking out.

1. Shakespeare in the Park

New York City

Dates: August 7 to September 14, 2025

Shakespeare in the Park is a staple at New York City‘s Delacorte Theater. But after six decades of hosting the iconic event, the open-air theater itself needed care, says executive director Patrick Willingham of the Public Theater (which runs Shakespeare in the Park).

After the Delacorte Theater’s 18-month renovation, theatergoers can expect upgrades that include a façade made of reclaimed wood from water towers from across the city and more accessibly designed seating.

“This renovation was about honoring everything people love about the Delacorte, while ensuring it can thrive for the next generation,” Willingham says. “The changes preserve the magic of the experience while future-proofing the space.”

This summer there will be only one play instead of the usual two: Twelfth Night. Running from August 7 to September 4, the play will star Lupita Nyong’o and her brother Junior Nyong’o as shipwrecked twins Viola and Sebastian. They’re joined by famous actors such as Peter Dinklage, Sandra Oh, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Bill Camp.

Scoring a seat won’t be easy—people line up hours in advance of the daily 12 p.m. ticket giveaway at the theater (and various locations in the five boroughs); you can also enter the online lottery or try your luck in the standby line on the night of the show.

2. Oregon Shakespeare Festival

Ashland, Oregon

Dates: March 7 to October 26, 2025

When the Oregon Shakespeare Festival began in 1935, theatergoers paid 50 cents to see Twelfth Night or The Merchant of Venice. The ticket prices may be closer to the $50 to $130 range now, but the magic of seeing compelling theater at the base of the Siskiyou Mountains in southern Oregon remains.

The company has expanded over the decades and added two indoor theaters. This year they’ll celebrate their 90th anniversary with nine productions—two of them at the outdoor Allen Elizabethan Theatre, the first Elizabethan-style stage built in the USA: Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives of Windsor and Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods. “This season really reflects who we are today—rooted in the incredible legacy of Shakespeare, but always looking forward, lifting up new voices and stories that speak to the world we live in now,” says Bond. “We want people to feel like this is their festival, whether they’ve been coming for decades or it’s their very first time setting foot in our welcoming community.”

Courtesy of the Muny

3. The Muny

St. Louis, Missouri

Dates: mid-June to mid-August, 2025

The Muny has been welcoming audiences to St. Louis’s Forest Park since 1917. Musicals are on the docket here, with the company generally presenting seven shows each season. Dozens of Broadway greats have graced the Muny’s proscenium stage over the past 107 years: Cary Grant appeared in The Three Musketeers in 1931; Pearl Bailey took on Hello, Dolly! in 1968; and Sarah Jessica Parker was just 12 when she appeared in The Sound of Music in 1977.

This season brings a slew of Broadway hits: Bring It On: The Musical, Come From Away, Disney’s Frozen, Evita, Dear Evan Hansen, La Cage Aux Folles, and Jersey Boys. Famously, the Muny bills itself as “a theater for everyone” and offers up the last nine rows of the theater—nearly 1,500 of its 11,000 seats—for free, available on a first-come, first-served basis.

4. American Players Theatre

Spring Green, Wisconsin

Dates: June 7 to November 23, 2025

Each summer, around 100,000 people travel to the woods of rural southwest Wisconsin to see some of the best classical theater in the country. The American Players Theatre opened in 1980 with a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. And in 2025 theatergoers can see the Shakespeare favorite anew, although still how it was presented 45 years ago (and 500 years ago in Elizabethan England): under an open sky and, notably, without mics.

The APT employs voice and text coaches to work with the actors to dissect a play and teach them how to properly project so their voices reach the last row of the 1,075-seat Hill Theatre. This summer, see nine shows in repertory, four at its indoor theater; the others at the Hill are Noel Coward’s Fallen Angels, William Inge’s Picnic, Nilo Cruz’s Anna in the Tropics, and Shakespeare’s A Winter’s Tale and A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Photo by Curtis Brown

5. Santa Fe Opera

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Dates: June 27 to August 23, 2025

Framed by the the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the location of the Santa Fe Opera is magical—and acoustically stunning. Crosby and acoustical engineer Jack Purcell actually fired a yachting cannon on Crosby’s ranch to find the perfect sonic place to serve as a natural amphitheater.

Many stars have launched their careers at SFO, and the organization regularly premieres new works, such as The Tempest in 1985 and M. Butterfly in 2022. This summer five operas will be performed in repertory: La Boheme, The Marriage of Figaro, Rigoletto, The Turn of the Screw, and Die Walküre.

6. The Old Globe

San Diego, California

Dates: June 8 to July 6, 2025, and July 27 to August 24, 2025

Modeled after the Old Globe in London, the Old Globe’s theater was built in San Diego’s Balboa Park in 1935 to present abridged Shakespeare during the California Pacific International Exposition. Over the years, the theater burned down—twice—and the organization has grown to include two indoor theaters that also mount productions throughout the year. (Many famous shows, including Into the Woods and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, premiered at the Old Globe before continuing on to Broadway.)

But the beloved tradition of seeing Shakespeare in the summer on warm California evenings—and within growling distance of the San Diego Zoo—still continues at the 620-seat Lowell Davies Festival Theatre. This summer, see All’s Well That Ends Well in June and The Comedy of Errors in August.