Public Theater regular Brian Kulick will direct Twelfth Night in Central Park's Delacorte Theatre this summer.

Instead of the customary two-play line-up, the Shakespeare comedy will be the Public's only park offering in 2002. However, the play will have a longer run than usual. In the past, park plays have typically lasted about a month.

Kulick received sunny reviews for his Delacorte A Winter's Tale in 2000. The production featured Keith David, Henry Stram and Jonathan Hadary. Kulick has also staged A Dybbuk and Timon of Athens, among other works, for the nonprofit.

Last year, the Public presented one of the starriest summer line ups in its history. The season began with Measure for Measure, starring Billy Crudup and Joe Morton, and directed by Mary Zimmerman, and ended with the headline making Mike Nichols production of The Seagull. Among the cast were Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Christopher Walken, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Natalie Portman and John Goodman.

Variety reported that the Public hopes to stock Twelfth Night with similarly boldface names. The recipe of stars and Illyria has worked magic for the company in the past. Over a decade ago, the Delacorte saw Michele Pfeiffer, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Gregory Hines and Jeff Goldblum play Olivia, Viola, Festes and Malvolio, respectively. More recently, at Lincoln Center Theater, Nicholas Hytner directed Helen Hunt, Kyra Sedgwick, Paul Rudd and Philip Bosco in the comedy.

—By Robert Simonson