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New York City is getting another shot in the arm this summer with Free Shakespeare in the Park’s happy Merry Wives, playwright Jocelyn Bioh’s embraceable adaptation of the Bard’s The Merry Wives of Windsor starring Watchmen‘s Jacob Ming-Trent as that great, rotund creation Falstaff.

Briefly delayed by injury and Covid, Merry Wives opens tonight as a most welcome – and, with vaccines required, as safe as can be – escape from the woes of the world. With an update to a contemporary South Harlem peopled with a splendid assemblage of West African immigrant characters, Merry Wives enhances the classic farce with up-to-the-minute references, the occasional brief snippet of R&b crooning, and a same-sex romance that seems completely at home in the setting.

If the intermission-less production, directed by Saheem Ali, doesn’t quite reach the joyous heights of Kwame Kwei-Armah and Shaina Taub similarly updated Twelfth Night,...

Update, July 23 New York’s Public Theater has canceled tonight’s Free Shakespeare in the Park performance of Merry Wives, the third consecutive cancellation of the show after a member of the production tested positive for Covid-19 earlier this week.

In a series of Tweets today, the Public wrote, “On Wednesday, we learned that a member of the Merry Wives production tested positive for Covid, and in accordance with our existing protocols in the case of a positive result, we cancelled our July 21 and 22 performances.To support the artistic and logistical efforts required to restart performances, we are cancelling our performance on Friday, July 23.”

Today’s announcement also noted that the theater company will “continue adhering to the rigorous testing and daily health and safety protocols needed to support a safe and joyful experience for all at Free Shakespeare in the Park.”

Information on future performances will be shared soon,...

The Public Theater’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production of Merry Wives has postponed its opening night by nearly two weeks due to an onstage injury sustained by its leading man Jacob Ming-Trent.

Jocelyn Bioh’s comedy adaptation of Merry Wives of Windsor, currently in previews at Central Park’s Delacorte Theater, was to have opened Tuesday, July 27, with press previews originally scheduled for this week. The Public Theater announced today that the official opening has been bumped to Monday, August 9.

Neither the nature nor the extent of the injury was disclosed. A Public Theater spokesperson told Deadline that the actor is recuperating and will return to the show when he is able. No additional details were released.

According to the theater, Ming-Trent, who plays Falstaff in the production, “unfortunately sustained an injury during a recent performance and to support his full recovery, we must postpone our upcoming press performances and official press opening.

New York’s Free Shakespeare in the Park production this summer of Merry Wives, a comedy adaptation by Jocelyn Bioh of the Bard’s Merry Wives of Windsor, will feature an all-Black cast including Jacob Ming-Trent (HBO’s Watchmen), Gbenga Akinnagbe (Broadway’s To Kill A Mockingbird), Shola Adewusi (CBS’ Bob Hearts Abishola) and Susan Kelechi Watson (NBC’s This Is Us).

The Public Theater announced the complete casting today, along with new dates for the staging in Central Park’s Delacorte Theater: Performances will begin Tuesday, July 6 (instead of the previously announced July 5) and run through Saturday, September 18 (an extension of three weeks from the previously announced engagement). The official opening night is Tuesday, July 27.

The extension is designed to compensate for current social distancing procedures that will require limited audience capacity of 428 at the 1,800-seat Delacorte. The audience capacity could be expanded if state requirements for small- and medium-sized venues change before July.