What's Your Fancy?: Merry Wives's Susan Kelechi Watson on Her Central Park Essentials

“I always wanted to do Shakespeare in the Park; it’s a New York actor’s dream,” says Susan Kelechi Watson. This summer, the Brooklyn native is getting her chance, starring in a production of Merry Wives at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. It’s an updated version of The Merry Wives of Windsor adapted by Jocelyn Bioh and directed by Saheem Ali to set the comedy in Harlem and give it a delightful, modern twist.

For Watson, who also stars in the TV series This Is Us, it wasn’t just a chance to perform as part of a beloved New York City institution, but also an opportunity to help welcome back theater after an unprecedented pause.

“I was thrilled to be part of something that’s bringing the city back,” she says. “Ushering the arts back is a huge deal; we’d been dark for over 16 months, and we all know that the show must go on, so it feels crazy when it doesn’t.”

Another perk was the physical comedy that came with playing Madam Ford, one of the show’s titular spouses, who receives the same love letter from an admirer as her friend Madam Page and decides to seek a bit of mischievous revenge—pranking their husbands as well along the way.

“It’s probably close to what Shakespeare was doing,” Watson says. “Legend has it that he was writing on the fly, and everything’s in a language that works with the physical comedy. We’ve had a lot of seriousness in reality lately; it feels important to bring joy to people.”

To perform in Merry Wives, which runs through September 18, Watson had to bring more than just her acting chops and comedic timing. Long days of rehearsals in Central Park and unpredictable evenings performing outdoors meant she must rely on some well-curated essentials to ensure she’s ready for whatever might come her way. Below, she shares her Central Park essentials—sunscreen, sandwiches, and everything in between.