"Shakespeare in the Park(ing Lot)," the popular series presented by the Off-Off-Broadway troupe Expanded Arts, will open its first production of the summer, Richard III, on July 9. Originally set to get underway July 7, the show pushed back its opening two days. The production will more than make up for the lost dates, however, by extending its run from July 31 to Aug. 7.

As in previous years, the show will take place in a municipal parking lot at Broome and Ludlow Streets.

Director David Levine, taking his production's setting to heart, has staged the Bard's classic tale of royal treachery in and around a gutted 1984 baby blue Ford Malibu. According to the director, "the old car represents a type of history, much like the costumes, with range from Elizabethan to the 1930's. The car becomes both places and people -- at one point it even becomes Richard himself."

For information on Richard III, call (212) 253-1813. Tickets are free.

The second production in the 1999 Parking Lot program will be Measure for Measure, Aug. 14-28. --By Robert Simonson