Forsooth, Free Shakespeare in Griffith Park Returns

Summer may have started just a week ago, but did it really begin? Really really?

Really?

Sure, the solstice solstice'd, but one of the main components of the contemporary summer season hadn't yet debuted, which is why we're saying that summer will actually arrive, at least in spirit, at 7 p.m. on Saturday, June 29.

Specifically, it'll swan into our lives at the Old Zoo in Griffith Park, for that is again the setting for the Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival, from the Independent Shakespeare Co., the longtime purveyors of Shakespearean pay-nothing goodness 'round these parts.

For it just doesn't seem like summer yet without some whimsical Will-ing, performed in a grove of beautiful trees, with the stars above helping to light the scene.

And that scene in 2019 will include both "Twelfth Night," which opens the two-month series on June 29, and "Pericles."

No, these won't be double features, so you'll need to make sure the play you'd like to see is unfolding on the night you plan to attend.

The former play? It's one of the quintessential romantic comedies, complete with "(m)usic, dance, and lovable misfits."

And the latter is lush with epic-a-tude, "knights errant, Greek gods, pirates... and more than a few surprises."

Simply showing up, as you are, is a-ok, but prepping for your free night of Shakespearean sweetness is recommended. Sunscreen? A low-backed beach chair? A blanket? You may want to pack all of those things, and more.

There are solid tips here.

Part of the adventure is knowing you'll be seated under the sky, with the possibility that a local critter could skitter across the stage or start chirping overhead.

Hello summer tradition, hello Shakespeare on stage, hello picnic-blanketing-stars-twinkling-no-money-ing good times.