Shakespeare in the Park returns to Wheaton's Memorial Park Aug. 29-31

Wheaton College Arena Theater and the Wheaton Park District will present “As You Like It,” the 2024 production of the celebrated Shakespeare in the Park outdoor theater series at Memorial Park in downtown Wheaton.

It will run Thursday to Saturday, Aug. 29-31. The event is free and open to the public.

Performances begin at 7 p.m. at Memorial Park, 225 Karlskoga Ave. The park will open for attendees each evening at 5:30 p.m. Guests are strongly encouraged to bring bag chairs and/or blankets, as stadium seating is limited and is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

A special pre-performance puppet show will begin at 6:45 p.m.

“We are so excited to be partnering again with Wheaton College Arena Theater and to bring ‘As You Like It’ to the Wheaton community,” says Wheaton Park District special events coordinator Sammi Catanzaro. “Shakespeare in the Park is such a unique opportunity to bring a high-quality theater production with professional and student actors right into the heart of our town, and to make it free and accessible to all residents.”

In William Shakespeare’s witty and whimsical “As You Like It,” mistaken identities and misguided pursuits hilariously offer a reminder that sometimes the path to true love is as tangled as the forest itself. Wheaton College Arena Theater’s production of this classic features performances by actors both locally based and from across the country.

Kailey Bell (who plays Rosalind) is a Chicago-based professional actress who has performed at theaters including Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Cleveland Playhouse, Kansas City Repertory Theater and the Indiana Repertory Theater. She holds master's degrees from Northwestern University and the University of Idaho.

Zachary Chastain (Orlando), meanwhile, comes to Shakespeare in the Park from Binghamton, New York, where he has worked with several regional theaters and works as a voice actor.

Notably, more than a dozen “As You Like It” cast members are returning to the Memorial Park stage in 2024, having also performed in recent Shakespeare in the Park productions such as “Twelfth Night,” “Henry IV Part I” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”

Shakespeare in the Park co-founder Andy Mangin and “As You Like It” director Andy Mangin is grateful for the long-running collaboration between Wheaton College Arena Theater and the Wheaton Park District — a collaboration that has allowed thousands of guests of all ages enjoy theater under the stars since Shakespeare in the Park debuted in 2013.

“I’m very proud of our partnership with the Wheaton Park District and the success of this endeavor,” Mangin says. “We’re looking forward to another fantastic year of Shakespeare in the Park.”

For more information, visit wheatonparkdistrict.com/events/shakespeare/.