Shakespeare in the Park

About the Festival

The Southern Shakespeare Company’s FREE Shakespeare in the Park Festival invites an annual audience of up to 10,000 over a four-day weekend to enjoy the fun and fanfare as we bring stunning Shakespeare productions to Cascades Park in Tallahassee, Florida.

This event invites well-known celebrities like Emmy award winner Kelsey Scott (12 Years a Slave, The Walking Dead), comedian Kevin McDonald (The Kids in the Hall, Lilo & Stitch), Wil Johnson (The House of the Dragon, Outlander), and our 2026 Guest Star, William Ragsdale (Fright Night, Herman’s Head), to perform William Shakespeare’s classics in Florida’s capital city!

Modeled after Joe Papp’s Free Shakespeare in the Park in New York City, this is a family-friendly event, inviting audiences from all around the Southeast and beyond to enjoy food and libations under the stars with Free Shakespeare at Cascades Park.

Tallahassee arts lovers, clear your calendars: Southern Shakespeare Company is about to make February sizzle! In a bold move that cements its reputation as a trailblazer in regional theater, SSC is shifting its beloved Shakespeare in the Park Festival from May to the milder nights of Feb. 19-22, 2026.

This calendar leap is emblematic of SSC’s fearless spirit as it reinvents tradition. The same community-centered ethos remains at the heart of Shakespeare in the Park: every performance is open to all. Think warm blankets under clear skies, wondrous pageantry beneath the stars, and all the magic of Shakespeare — from the comfort of an ideal winter evening.

This year, with the move to February, audiences will be swept away by The Tempest in the Adderley Amphitheater. Prospero’s commands, Ariel’s flights, and Caliban’s brooding spirit will swirl around Cascades Park like a theatrical tornado — inviting us all to surrender to wonder.

Stay tuned to this page for updates on the 2026 Shakespeare in the Park Festival!

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2026 Guest Artist

William Ragsdale (Celebrity Guest Star, The Tempest), a native of El Dorado, Arkansas, began acting in community theater at age eleven and quickly gained recognition for his talent, becoming the youngest participant ever to compete in the National Society of Arts and Letters Drama Competition. After graduating from El Dorado High School and earning a B.A. in Humanities from Hendrix College, he trained at the Drama Studio London’s American school in Berkeley, CA. He made his professional theatrical debut in the Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s production of Can-Can, and shortly after graduating from DSL, landed his first film role opposite Laura Dern in Smooth Talk. He went on to star as Charley Brewster in the cult classic Fright Night and soon made his Broadway debut replacing Matthew Broderick in Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues. Ragsdale continued with national tours of Broadway Bound and appeared in films like Fright Night Part 2 and Mannequin 2, before transitioning to television, where he starred in FOX’s Herman’s Head and held recurring roles in Ellen, Judging Amy, Search Party, Justified, and many more. He has been recognized with multiple theater awards, a People’s Choice Award nomination, and has presented at both the Emmy Awards and Saturn Awards.

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The quality of the mainstage SSC festival performances each year matches that of the many Shakespeare productions we’ve watched in much larger cities throughout England and the U.S. Tallahassee doesn’t know how lucky it is!

Dr. Sarah Lebhar Hall

Festival attendee

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My 19 year old granddaughter was smitten. Days after [the festival] she enthusiastically shared her experience of the evening with a group of youths who claimed “there’s nothing to do in Tallahassee”…Thanks for the encounter!

2021 audience member

festival attendee

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Thank you THANK YOU for bringing [the festival] back!!! My love of Shakespeare started because of that first [Southern Shakespeare] showing of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Thank you for bringing back one of my loveliest childhood memories.

Brittany Callens

festival attendee

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The set, the costumes, the actors and their excellent performance throughout the play all contributed to a feast for the eyes and ears. And for those who are hearing impaired, watching the signers convey the message and emotion was a treat!

Penny Davis

festival attendee

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I’ve seen a LOT of Shakespeare, both community and professional, and this show was hands down one of the best I have ever seen. Don’t miss out!

Rose Bennett

festival attendee