Steve Martin to Make Music for the Public's Shakespeare

As unlikely as it seems, Shakespeare and Steve Martin will meet this summer through music.

Though Steve Martin is best known for being a "wild and crazy guy" on "Saturday Night Live," a movie star, a writer, and an art lover, he is also a skilled musician. In fact, he is an adept banjo player and has recorded two bluegrass albums, a talent that has landed him a new gig.

Martin will compose original music for the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park staging of "As You Like It." The upcoming production, which begins previews on June 5 at the Delacorte Theater and continue until June 30, will feature a live bluegrass band. Tony-winning director Daniel Sullivan will, according to a press release, "set the play's famous forest of Arden in the rural American South, circa 1840, where folk and roots music perfectly capture the mood of the time."

The Shakespearean comedy will be followed by a revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's "Into the Woods" which begins performances July 23 and it will ends its run on Aug. 25.

This summer marks the 50th summer of free Shakespeare in the Park. In honor of this accomplishment, The Public launched the 50th Anniversary Fellows Program to help support free Shakespeare in the Park in the future.

For details on tickets, visit the official Shakespeare in the Park website.