Al Pacino, seen in Paris in 2008, will reprise the role of Shylock in the 2010 Central Park production of The Merchant of Venice. (Michel Euler/Associated Press)Al Pacino has agreed to reprise the role of Shylock in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice in New York's Central Park next summer.

New York's Public Theatre, which produces a duo-bill Shakespeare in the park each summer, will present Merchant (directed by Daniel Sullivan) in repertory along with A Winter's Tale (directed by Michael Greif).

Pacino will be joined by Jesse L. Martin, Lily Rabe, Ruben Santiago-Hudson, Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Max Wright.

While many of the featured actors will do dual duty by starring in both productions, a scheduling conflict will limit Pacino to just Merchant, which runs June 9 to Aug. 1.

The Public's popular summertime series often features prominent actors in lead roles, with Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, Patrick Stewart and Kevin Kline among those who have graced the company's open-air Delacorte Theatre.

Bard fan known for Hollywood roles

Pacino won praise for his nuanced, multifaceted turn as Jewish money-lender Shylock when he appeared in Michael Radford's 2004 film adaptation of The Merchant of Venice.

The 69-year-old Pacino — best known for iconic Hollywood films like Scarface, Dog Day Afternoon and The Godfather series — has also regularly returned to theatre over the years, including picking up two Tony Awards (for The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel in 1977 and Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? in 1969).

The self-professed Shakespeare fan also starred in the 1996 pseudo-documentary Looking for Richard, which intertwines the plot of Richard III with a behind-the-scenes look at the actors and filmmakers processes while creating the production. He also portrayed King Herod in a 2006 production of Salome in Los Angeles.

With files from The Associated Press