Crowds Line Up For Meryl Streep Play

Actress Is Appearing Opposite Kevin Kline In New York's Central Park

(AP)  Ayala and his newfound friends got a menu from the box office to order lunch — from a local pizzeria that knew exactly where among the tall Central Park trees it was to be delivered.

Ayala is a big fan of Kushner, the Tony- and Pulitzer-prize winning playwright of "Angels in America" who adapted Brecht's work from German for this Shakespeare in the Park production. The play is directed by George C. Wolfe and features original music by Jeanine Tesori.

The drama by the 20th-century playwright about a 17th-century war among Europe's big powers in which children are victims of war, hit a nerve with Gal Cohen, visiting from Israel. The 18-year-old, who was finishing a three-week vacation in New York, is to report for military duty in Israel upon her return. She wanted to see the play, which she had studied at her Jerusalem high school.

Waiting for a ticket "is like 'Survivor' — we're the strongest ones," she said.

Persistence paid off for Wonderland, Ayala and Cohen. By the time the sun set in Central Park, all had gained admission and sat in the dark watching Streep live.

In the past two decades, New York audiences have seen Streep mostly on screen. At 57, she's the most-nominated actor in Academy Awards history, with two movies out last month: "A Prairie Home Companion" and "The Devil Wears Prada."

Streep last appeared at the Delacorte in 2001 as the extravagant Arkadina in a production of Chekov's "The Seagull," with Kline as her lover.

Kline has had a long association with the Public Theater, having played in such Shakespeare plays as "Hamlet," "Richard III," "Henry V," "Measure for Measure" and "Much Ado About Nothing." During the 2006-07 season at the Public, he will play the title role in "King Lear."

Besides Streep and Kline, the cast in "Mother Courage" includes Austin Pendleton, Alexandria Wailes, Frederick Weller, Geoffrey Arend, Jenifer Lewis and Jack Noseworthy.

"Courage" is the final offering of the Public Theater's Free Shakespeare in the Park this year, following "Macbeth."

Tuesday was the first preview performance before the official opening night on Aug. 21. "Mother Courage" is scheduled to run at the Delacorte through Sept. 3.