Lupita Nyong’o, Peter Dinklage, Sandra Oh, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and More Present ‘Twelfth Night’

Shakespeare in the Park is a unique institution, not least because it’s so democratic: The tickets are free. Even if you’re not a Public Theater donor and have to procure them via a digital lottery, say, or by standing in a very, very long line, the journey has its rewards. “The Delacorte experience starts before you’re in the theater,” says Lupita. “People are having picnics in their line. There’s music. There’s that community feeling.” Ali has felt it many times: “It’s the most generous, excited audience in New York. They’re charged. They’ve been waiting for it all day. You will never find a more electric audience.”

This year’s attendees may be especially thrilled to learn that Ali’s version of Twelfth Night is only 100 minutes long, with no intermission. In the original script, “there are references that are antiquated; there are plot points that are not as interesting,” the director says. “I pick the parts that I think work and just go from there.” And luckily, most of Twelfth Night still works, to put it mildly. “These plays are bulletproof. They give what you need to build a world, and then it’s up to you to decide what is meaningful to you—what you want it to say about the world that we’re in right now.”

Twelfth Night’s twisty plot and gender-bending elements make it ripe for a more up-to-date take. “I love that it is Shakespeare that doesn’t make you feel dumb,” says Lupita. Ferguson agrees. “This is the type of show that brings new audiences to Shakespeare,” he says. “And with a cast like this, I think that’s even going to be more so.”

And don’t forget the allure of those shiny modern seats. Though this will be Dinklage’s first time performing at the Delacorte, he’s attended shows there numerous times over the years: “I have been when it’s rained. I have been when an owl flew through the stage in the middle of the show and somebody had to duck. You hear screaming drunks somewhere far off in Central Park. I love it.” But no raccoons, please. “When I was young, I lived in apartments without any heat, with rodents and stuff, and I was like, Ah, it’s so cool to suffer,” says Dinklage. In reality, of course, he hated that experience even as he romanticized it. “So my answer is, I’m pretty psyched that they fixed it up.”

Hair, Vernon François (Junior Nyong’o, Lupita Nyong’o), Ben Skervin (Oh), Adam Markarian (all others); makeup, Nick Barose (Lupita Nyong’o), Francelle Daly (Oh); manicures, Eri Handa (all except Lupita Nyong’o); grooming, Nick Barose (Junior Nyong’o), Adam Markarian (all other men); tailor, Susan Balcunas; set design, Viki Rutsch. Produced on location by Viewfinders. For details, go to VF.com/credits.