Shakespeare in the Park, a free summer production produced by New York\u2019s Public Theater, had never skipped a season in its sixty plus year history until COVID-19 shut down the world in 2020. So when the annual signpost of summer, held at Central Park\u2019s Delacorte Theater, returned after a yearlong hiatus earlier this year, New Yorkers rejoiced. The reopening was a milestone not just for the city and the theater community, but for civilization at large, which is in part why filmmaker\u00a0Rudy Valdez\u00a0(\u201cThe Sentence\u201d) documented the triumphant return.<\/p>\n
The result is Valdez\u2019s \u201cReopening Night\u201d\u00a0premiering on HBO on Dec. 20. \u00a0The documentary chronicles The Public\u2019s 12-week journey to navigate an obstacle-filled path to the opening night of Shakespeare in the Park\u2019s \u201cMerry Wives\u201d in August 2021. Set in a South Harlem community of West African immigrants, the play is an adaptation of the Shakespeare comedy \u201cThe Merry Wives of Windsor.\u201d Featuring an all-Black cast, the production, directed by Saheem Ali, served not only as a celebration of the return to in-person life, but also as a bold embrace of Black joy following the national reckoning over equity and racial justice that was sparked by the murder of George Floyd.<\/p>\n
With behind-the-scenes access to the creative process, Valdez captured intimate cast rehearsals, design team construction and COVID-19 induced production setbacks while also taking an honest look at the Black experience in theater.<\/p>\n
Here, Valdez, who also served as the lead D.P. on \u201cOpening Night,\u201d talks with\u00a0Variety<\/em>\u00a0about the origins of the project, making a feature documentary in less than five months and gaining subjects\u2019 trust while wearing a mask.<\/p>\n \u2028How did this project come to fruition?\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n Executive producers Matthew O\u2019Neill and Perri Peltz had been talking with The Public for at least a couple of years about possibly doing a documentary about Shakespeare in the Park. They did a lot of groundwork and built trust. So, when it looked like \u201cMerry Wives\u201d was going to happen, it seemed like the perfect time to make the film.<\/p>\n How did you come on?\u00a0\u2028\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n Matthew and Perri reached out to me because I\u2019ve had some experience with The Public and I have a lot of theater experience in my background. Also, the style of which the film was going to have to be made was tailor made for the way that I make films \u2013 with a very small crew and very intimately. When they reached out and said we have this project and it has to do with The Public Theater, I said yes before they finished their sentence.<\/p>\n What is your past experience with The Public?\u00a0\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n I used to produce a show called \u201cFind The Funny,\u201d which was a variety standup show at Joe\u2019s Pub (a performing space in The Public Theater) for six or seven years. I was basically a producer who helped put together the show, so I had spent a lot of time at The Public Theater.<\/p>\n Opening night of \u201cMerry Wives\u201d was on August 9. When did you begin filming?\u00a0\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n \n This whole project happened very quickly. Our first shoot day was the first day of rehearsal in May 2021. From the first shoot day to the delivery of the film all happened in under five months. It was fast and furious, but amazing.<\/p>\n \u2028That\u2019s an incredibly short amount of time to complete a feature-length documentary. What was that like?\u00a0\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n What\u2019s interesting about doing a project like this, where you have this opening date that you\u2019re leading towards, is that you have to think about the story and what that opening night really means. To me, it\u2019s like, yes, of course this beautiful show was going up, but when the audience sees that footage of the show, I wanted them to think of the cast and the people behind the scenes and all of the work they put into putting this production together. I wanted it to feel like the audience took this journey with them and I wanted them to be invested in these people.<\/p>\n You filmed the cast rehearsing as well as individually at their homes. How did you gain their trust in such a short amount of time?\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n Normally during the beginning process of a documentary, especially a verit\u00e9 documentary like this one, the initial work of the filmmaker is building trust and breaking down those barriers. One thing that was a hindrance for me during this project was wearing a mask. One of the things that I\u2019ve realized about myself is that I have \u2014 I don\u2019t know how to put it without sounding egotistical \u2014 a kind face. A trusting face. It\u2019s one of my tools when I am connecting with people. You always know what you\u2019re getting when you talk to me. You know who I am and what I\u2019m about and why I\u2019m in the room. So, at the beginning of this project I realized, \u2018Wow. I\u2019m going to really have to work because they\u2019re just looking at my crazy eyes.\u2019<\/p>\n Did you know from the outset that the subjects of race and racism would be a big part of this docu?\u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n We were there to make this film for a couple of reasons. \u00a0One was Shakespeare in the Park and the making of \u201cMerry Wives.\u201d It\u2019s a topic that would be fascinating in any year, but we were heightened by the fact that The Public had taken a year off because of the pandemic and this was going to be the first show back. But along with COVID, George Floyd happened, and this racial reckoning was happening in our country and this show was also a response to that. I didn\u2019t want to go in with any preconceived notion about what that meant and how I was going to try and tell that story, because it\u2019s not for me to dictate. But we went in and it was immediately on the front of everybody\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n \u2028Do you consider this film a COVID documentary? \u2028<\/strong><\/p>\n It certainly captures a timeframe that encompasses COVID, but I think at the same time, it\u2019s evergreen because it is about standing back up. It is about courage. It\u2019s about voice and it\u2019s about agency. It just happens to be taking place at a point when we thought we were coming out of a pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cReopening Night\u201d premieres Dec. 20 on HBO.<\/em><\/p>\n