Long before even the development of Lin Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (which premiered at The Public Theater in February 2015), The Public Theater made a lasting impact on the off broadway and more experimental shows would make their way uptown.
The venue opened in 1967, mounting the world-premiere production of the musical Hair as its first show. Under the direction of Joe Papp, the public would flourish into a five stage complex and garnering 54 Tony Awards, 152 Obie Awards, 42 Drama Desk Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes. Fifty-five 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, Michael John LaChiusa‘s The Wild Party, 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, The Normal Heart, Well, Fun Home, Hamilton, and Eclipsed.
Read more about The Public Theater here: https://www.publictheater.org/404/?404;https://www.publictheater.org:443/content/blogcategory/17/138/
Read more about the transformation of the old Astor Library into the Public here: https://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/10/realestate/streetscapes-old-astor-library-now-joseph-papp-public-theater-once-it-held-many.html
Read more about the most recent controversy at The Public Theater here: https://variety.com/2017/legit/news/public-theater-rally-trump-julius-caesar-1202468387/
One of the most dazzling evenings in the theatre. For more about Joe Papp’s birthday party, visit my curated life review at https://performingartslegacy.org/arian/curated-life-review/
Go to my short oral history #1 on the bottom of my oral history page for a snippet of the music https://performingartslegacy.org/arian/oral-history/
