(RIDGEFIELD PARK, NJ) -- Black Box Performing Arts Center, in partnership with Bergen County, will present free outdoor professional performances of Shakespeare’s Hamlet and As You Like It this summer, exclusively at the Overpeck Park Amphitheater in Ridgefield Park. Performances are free to attend, but audiences should bring their own chairs or blankets.

This will be the fourth year of free summer Shakespeare in Bergen County, brought to you by Black Box PAC, the intimate 501c3 non profit theater/performing arts school combo located on Palisade Avenue in downtown Englewood. 

As in previous years, both shows will be presented in repertory. The electrifying actors, a stellar group from New York City and New Jersey, will appear in both shows. The ensemble includes Bergen County’s Shakespeare in the Park veterans Michael Gardiner, Cassandra Guglielmo, Kentrell Loftin, Danielle MacMath, and Ilana Schimmel. They are joined by newcomers Neev Bar-David, Temima Hyman, Mike Marcou, Anne Elizabeth Miele, Jeremy Niles, Maggie Danielli Pecorino, Conrad Rippy, and Kevin Thiel. 

Black Box PAC adds a twist to their takes on Shakespeare, making the classic stories more accessible:

HAMLET - Surf's up in the classic revenge tragedy! The sun might be out, the waves might be strong, but there is a dark cloud surrounding the surfer prince as he grapples with the recent death of his father. Can he stay balanced on his board and avenge the Surf King’s murder?

AS YOU LIKE IT - How do YOU like it? Uptight suburbia got you down? Escape the court and find freedom in the Forest of Arden! Shakespeare’s famous heroine finds liberty in banishment and Hippies in the woods in this fun romantic comedy with a psychedelic twist.

All the world’s a stage… but the best stage of all is Bergen County’s Overpeck Park Amphitheater, located at 100 Challenger Road in Ridgefield Park, New Jersey. Join us this summer, starting late July through August (full performance schedule including dates and times to be announced soon).

Shows are free to the public, thanks to the support of their generous corporate and organizational sponsors: The Bristal Assisted Living; Cross River Bank; Davis, Saperstein & Salomon; The Puffin Foundation; Bauer Printing Co.; and Michael J. Pessolano of Friedberg Realtors.

Want to see your company name among the list of arts and culture supporters in Northern, NJ? Please email BlackBoxPAC@gmail.com for more information about sponsorship options benefits.