Public Theater Returns For Its 16th Season In Riverside Park

NEW YORK — The Hudson Warehouse Theater group is set to kick off it 16th Summer Stage series on June 6th at the Soldiers' and Sailors' Monument in Riverside Park at West 89th Street and Riverside Drive.

Named by L Magazine as the "Best Outdoor Theater" in New York in 2009, the theater has been putting on shows in Riverside Park since its conception in 2004.

The 2019 Summer Stage series consists of three different shows put on in June, July and August. The series begins with Anthony and Cleopatra from June 6 to June 30, followed by The D'Aragnan Romances Part Three: The Man in the Iron Mask, from July 4 to July 28, and then concludes with The Merry Wives of Windsor, from August 1 to August 25.

All performances are Thursday through Sunday nights at 6:30 p.m.

The theater company's mission statement is clear – public theater should be free.

"Hudson Warehouse's mission is to provide quality, exciting, innovative, and affordable classical theater to the community," it says.

The Warehouse believes theater is a "ware" and essential for daily life. To this end, the Warehouse doesn't sell tickets, but has a "pay what you can" policy because the arts should be affordable to everyone."

"Outside theater is essential. It's old school, going back to the original form, taking it outside and bringing it to the people," said producing artistic director Nicholas Martin-Smith.

While the theater company doesn't charge for tickets, it still pays its actors.