Barefoot Shakespeare opens “Our June 2026 Show” at Summit Rock: Fri May 22 – Thu May 28

Hey theater fans,

Thursday-evening edition, and the headline lands at the end of the window: Barefoot Shakespeare opens “Our June 2026 Show” Thursday May 28 at 3 PM at Summit Rock — a brand-new production at a venue Barefoot rarely uses (the company’s usual home is The Pool). Meanwhile Julius Caesar continues its ongoing run at The Pool — 10 AM daily through May 31, then a second Caesar production picks up the venue June 2. Six Caesar performances sit inside this window (Sat through Thu), and the new opening caps the week.

Weather this week

A genuinely difficult outdoor-theater week: Sat is rain all day, Sun brings thunderstorms, Memorial Day showers, then drying Tue and a warm sunny Wed. The 10 AM curtain is your friend here — every day this week except Sat, the worst weather sits later in the day, and the morning slot beats the heaviest rain on Sun, Mon, and Tue.

Fri May 22 — Dark at The Pool, transitional weather

Caesar is dark today — a Friday rest before the weekend stretch. If you’re new to The Pool as a venue, today’s the day to walk the site. The seating is benches and stone surrounding the dry north end of The Pool, just below 100th & CPW. Knowing the sightlines before you commit a wet Saturday morning to it is worth the scout. The Bandshell has a curiosity tonight (Mindtravel’s headphone-piano experience, 7 PM) if you want park performance without theater.

Sat May 23, 10 AM — Julius Caesar at The Pool (rain day)

This is the wet one. Saturday’s forecast is rain all day at 58°F. Barefoot Shakespeare’s standing practice is to play through rain — what stops the show is lightning. The Pool venue has no shelter for the audience, so come dressed for it: waterproof shell, hat, something to sit on that can take water.

There’s a real argument for catching this performance. Outdoor Shakespeare in steady rain has a particular character — the company commits harder, the audience self-selects for devotion, the staging takes on weight. If you’ve seen Caesar in dry weather already, the rain show is its own thing.

Sun May 24, 10 AM — Julius Caesar at The Pool

The 10 AM curtain dodges the worst of Sunday’s thunderstorm risk — afternoon convective storms are what’s flagged, not morning. Air should be 60°F-ish and unsettled but mostly playable at curtain. The run continues daily into the week ahead, so this is the last weekend show of the window — and the rare one with the company still finding its rhythm against weather.

Mon May 25 (Memorial Day), 10 AM — Julius Caesar at The Pool

Memorial Day matinee. 74°F, rain showers possible but unlikely at 10 AM. The Pool typically draws a different audience on a holiday — more drop-ins, more tourists — and the company tends to lean into the civic-feeling moments of the play, which Caesar has in abundance. If a Memorial Day matinee of a Roman political tragedy doesn’t move you, nothing will.

Tue May 26, 10 AM — Julius Caesar at The Pool

80°F, mostly cloudy, dry. This is the best-weather performance so far in the week. If you can swing a weekday morning, Tuesday is the calm pick — the worst of the weekend rain is behind, the company is settled in, and the audience tends toward the regulars and the curious rather than the weekend tourist mix.

Wed May 27, 10 AM — Julius Caesar at The Pool

85°F partly sunny — the warmest day of the week, but at 10 AM the air should still be reasonable. The run is in its rhythm at this point; this is one of the better-attended weekday shows of the spring as schools wind down. Caesar continues Thursday and through the weekend ahead — there’s no closing pressure on this performance.

Thu May 28 — Barefoot Shakespeare’s “Our June 2026 Show” opens at Summit Rock

The week’s headline. 80°F sunny — about as good as outdoor-debut weather gets. Barefoot Shakespeare’s “Our June 2026 Show” opens 3 PM at Summit Rock, the highest natural point in Central Park, on the west side mid-park near the West 81st Street entrance off Central Park West. Summit Rock is a rare-use venue for Barefoot — the company’s home for the past several seasons has been The Pool — and a 3 PM curtain at a rocky outcrop is a different staging problem entirely (no proscenium, audience seated on the ground or the surrounding slope, sightlines defined by the geology).

Caesar continues at The Pool 10 AM the same morning, so Thursday is a rare two-Barefoot-productions day if you can stretch the schedule. This is the kind of date theater fans circle — first night of a brand-new production at an unfamiliar venue, in clean sunny weather. Arrive early, scout the rock, find your sight line before the cast does.

Looking ahead

• Barefoot Shakespeare’s second Julius Caesar production picks up The Pool venue June 2 through June 21 — a new cast and staging of the same play
• The Public Theater’s Delacorte season historically launches in early-to-mid June
• Hudson Warehouse at the north end usually begins its summer run by Memorial Day weekend — watch their channels

Quick recap

Thu 5/28, 3 PM — Barefoot Shakespeare’s “Our June 2026 Show” opens at Summit Rock. Brand-new production, rare-use venue, the week’s theater headline.

Sat 5/23 – Thu 5/28, 10 AM daily — Julius Caesar at The Pool. Ongoing run through May 31; six performances inside this window.

Sat 5/23, 10 AM — full-day rain. Company plays through; dress for it.

Mon 5/25, 10 AM — Memorial Day matinee. 74°F, mostly playable, civic-feeling holiday performance.

Tue 5/26, 10 AM — best dry-weather Caesar of the week. Settled company, mid-week calm.

See you in the park, The Central Park Guide