Amanda Dehnert will stage Shakespeare's bloody history play, about a ravenous king who murders to get to the crown, that will tour to prisons, homeless shelters, at-risk-youth centers, senior centers and other park and recreation centers across the city July 16-Aug. 3.

Following the tour, Richard III will play the Public Theater Aug. 6-25. Tickets for the downtown run will be $15; however, the Public will make 20 free tickets available for each performance to community organizations who were unable to host the tour.

Ron Cephas Jones will lead in the title role, in a cast that will also include Michelle Beck (Anne), Suzanne Bertish (Margaret), Keith Eric Chappelle (Hastings), Michael Crane (Buckingham), Lynn Hawley (Elizabeth), Alex Hernandez (Catesby), Miriam Hyman (Clarence) and Kevin Kelly (Edward).

"Accessibility to Shakespeare is one of the core values of The Public Theater, and sending The Mobile Shakespeare Unit out into the community is one of the most important things we do," Public Theater Shakespeare Initiative director Barry Edelstein said in a statement. "Amanda Dehnert's spare, muscular production of Richard III, with its talented ensemble supporting Ron Cephas Jones' incendiary performance, will thrill the audiences we visit, and, we hope, whet in them an appetite for more of this great playwright's work."

The production will have scenic and costume design by Linda Roethke with original music by Amanda Dehnert. According to the Public, "Richard III tells the story of one of Shakespeare’s most charismatic villains who cuts a scorched-earth swath through the politicos, power-mongers, and even family members who stand between him and the crown. But before King Richard III can enjoy the fruits of his ill-gotten gain, something stirs that freezes him in his tracks: conscience."

Tickets for the engagement at the Public go on sale July 12. For tickets phone (212) 967-7555 or visit Public Theater. The Public Theater is located at 425 Lafayette Street in Manhattan.