Public/Private: My Life with Joe Papp at The Public Theater

PUBLIC/PRIVATE is a memoir of the author's life with Joe Papp, blending the Public Theater's history with an affecting memoir. It explores Joe Papp's creative process, founding the Shakespeare Festival, and the Public's evolution into cultural renown and national significance.

Format: Hardback
Length: 392 pages
Publication date: 17 October 2023
Publisher: Globe Pequot Press

PUBLIC/PRIVATE is a captivating blend of behind-the-scenes insights into the Public Theater's illustrious history and an intimate memoir of the author's life with Joe Papp. The book begins with an overview of the Public's origins in the 1960s and 1970s, encompassing the couple's twenty-five-year association, during which they staged numerous productions, ranging from Shakespeare in the Park to iconic musicals like Hair and A Chorus Line, as well as powerful plays like for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf (currently re-mounted on Broadway with seven TONY award nominations). The author delves into the creative process of Joe Papp, emphasizing his unwavering ambition to establish a producing home dedicated to nurturing original plays and musicals from emerging voices while embracing non-traditional casting practices, which made the Public a sanctuary for many of the most innovative individuals in American popular culture. She traces the origins of the Shakespeare Festival, initially limited to small venues around New York City, evolving into Central Park, where its Shakespeare renditions became an enduring summer staple in the city. Furthermore, the book explores the Public's remarkable journey toward cultural prominence and national significance, serving as a lasting beacon of social change.

Weight: 771g
Dimension: 237 x 161 x 30 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781493074860