It existed before I was aware of it-- like most people, it seemed to pop into view under the leadership of the redoubtable Joseph Papp, who started Shakespeare in the Park and made a point of showcasing new American playwrights.
I guess it was his involvement with the hippie musical "Hair" that really got him into the public eye.
I remember going to the Public down on Lafayette Street a number of times, sometimes enjoying the productions, other times wishing Papp had left an undiscovered playwright undiscovered.
Somewhere along the line Papp became really interested in doing big "popular" works like " A Chorus Line" and also became a big advocate of the cause of the rights of writers who had been banned in their own countries ( like Vaclav Havel....Papp produced Havel when no one but no one knew who the hell Havel was and organized protests against the way Havel was being treated).
But, let us go way back and see how this all came about...courtesy Wikipedia again...they have a lot more material but I think what I am showing is quite enough!
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village section of Lower Manhattan. The venue opened in 1967, mounting the world-premiere production of the musical HAIR as its first show. It is led by Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham.[1]
The Public is dedicated to embracing the complexities of contemporary society and nurturing both artists and audiences, as it continues Joseph Papp's legacy of creating a place of inclusion and a forum for ideas.[2]
In addition to five theater venues – the Shiva, the Martinson, the LuEsther Hall, the Anspacher and the Newman – the site is home to Joe's Pub, a cabaret-style setting used for new work, musical performances, spoken-word artists and soloists.
The Public also operates the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, where it presents Shakespeare in the Park, one of New York City's most beloved summer traditions. New York natives and visitors alike have been enjoying free Shakespeare in Central Park since performances began in 1954.[3] Notable productions in recent years include: The Merchant of Venice in 2010, featuring Al Pacino as Shylock; Twelfth Night in 2009, with Anne Hathaway; the 40th anniversary production of Hair in 2008; and Mother Courage And Her Children, with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline.
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Programs and series
In addition to each season of full-scale theatrical productions, The Public also produces a number of different series, festivals and programs each year.In 2008, The Public presented its inaugural Public LAB series, an annual series of new plays presented in collaboration with LAByrinth Theater Company. Public LAB lets New Yorkers see more of the work they love from The Public in scaled-down productions, and allows The Public to support more artists, as well as gives audiences immediate access to new plays in development at affordable prices. With each Public LAB show, corresponding speaker series are presented as after-show talkbacks to discuss prominent themes, ideas and topics in the plays. A number of plays that have appeared in the Public LAB series have gone onto full-scale productions, including Tracey Scott Wilson’s The Good Negro, which ran at The Public in 2009, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson , which had a sold-out, thrice-extended Off-Broadway run at The Public in the spring of 2010 and transferred to Broadway that fall.[4]
Public LAB was expanded in 2011 to include Public LAB SHAKESPEARE, a vital new platform for The Public's ongoing exploration of the Shakespeare canon that continues the growth of The Public's Shakespeare Initiative and expand the many ways The Public produces American interpretations of Shakespeare. The premiere production of Public LAB SHAKESPEARE was Timon of Athens in March 2011, featuring Richard Thomas in the title role.[5]
The Public Forum, begun in 2010, is an exciting series of lectures, debates and conversations that showcase leading voices in the arts, politics and the media. Curated by Jeremy McCarter, a senior writer at Newsweek, Public Forum events explore issues raised by plays in The Public's season, as well as the political and cultural headlines of today's world. In keeping with the best traditions of The Public, the Forum hosts a wide diversity of views and brings the theater into contact with the society around it. Notable participants in the series include Stephen Sondheim, Tony Kushner, Ariana Huffington, Alec Baldwin and Anne Hathaway.[6]
The Public hosts the annual Under the Radar Festival, directed by Mark Russell. Begun in 2004, Under The Radar spotlights international artists ranging from emerging talents to masters in the field. The festival is a wild mix of works by ensembles, solo artists, writers, and creators. The ultimate goal of UTR is to offer a crash course in theater that is exciting, independent, and experimental, created by some of the most dynamic artists working today. As of April 2011, there have been 104 productions from over 18 countries,[citation needed] including the United States, Australia, Belarus, Bolivia, Brazil, France, Ireland, Mali, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, and the United Kingdom. Some artists who have collaborated with UTR include SITI Company, Elevator Repair Service, Nature Theater of Oklahoma, Superamas, Abbey Theatre, Mike Daisey, Reggie Watts, Teatro De Los Andes, and many more.[7]
The Public serves as the home of the Emerging Writers Group, which seeks to target playwrights at the earliest stages in their careers. In so doing, The Public hopes to create an artistic home for a diverse and exceptionally talented group of up-and-coming playwrights. Through the Emerging Writers Group, The Public continues its rich legacy of supporting current and future generations of our country’s most important writers via The Public Writers Initiative – a long-term initiative that provides key support and resources for writers at every stage of their careers. The Public Writers Initiative creates a fertile community and fosters a web of supportive artistic relationships across generations. The Emerging Writers Group is a component of The Public Writers Initiative.[8]
The Public also fosters New Work Now!, a play reading series that has become a nationally recognized showcase for emerging writers and established artists. New Work Now! allows audiences an opportunity to experience new work by a diverse selection of established and emerging theater artists—all for free.[9]
The Public Theater invests in theater education, training classical actors through the annual summer acting intensive known as the Shakespeare Lab. The Shakespeare Lab is The Public Theater’s professional actor development program that immerses a carefully selected company of professional, mid-career actors in a summer intensive exploring the rigors, challenges, and joys of performing Shakespeare.[10]
The Public also educates through its Shakespeare Spring Break, Summer ShakeUP, and A Midsummer Day’s Camp programs, all for teenagers interested in learning about and performing Shakespeare.[11]
Suzan-Lori Parks, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and Master Writer Chair of The Public, debuted her performance piece Watch Me Work as part of the 2011 Under The Radar Festival. As of April 2011, Parks continues to perform the piece in the main lobby of The Public Theater. A meditation on the artistic process and an actual work session, Watch Me Work features Parks working on her newest writing project in the main lobby of The Public Theater. The audience is invited to come and watch her work and/or to share the space and get some of their own writing work done. During the last fifteen minutes of the performance Parks answers questions the audience might have regarding their own work and their creative process.[12]
Notable works and awards
The most famous work to emerge from The Public, other than the original production of Hair, is the Michael Bennett musical A Chorus Line, based on the lives and careers of Broadway dancers. The show created such a stir of anticipation among the theatrical community that the entire limited run sold out long before opening night. Demand for tickets was such that the show moved uptown to Broadway's Shubert Theatre, where it remained "one singular sensation" for fifteen sold-out years. Over the years, revenue from the many worldwide productions, both professional and amateur, of the show has been a steady and main source of income for The Public.The Public Theater has won 42 Tony Awards, 151 Obies, 41 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. Fifty-four Public Theater productions have moved to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Passing Strange; the revival of HAIR; Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson; The Merchant of Venice and "The Normal Heart"
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