Your New Theatrical Season
See it first. See it at The Public.
Your new season includes Public Works' stunning musical adaptation of THE TEMPEST, Alicia Keys and Kristoffer Diaz's thrilling new musical HELL'S KITCHEN, Mary Kathryn Nagle's gripping MANAHATTA, Itamar Moses' THE ALLY featuring Josh Radnor, Suzan-Lori Parks' edgy dramedy SALLY & TOM, and Emerging Writers Group alumnus Ife Olujobi's piercing JORDANS. We are also excited to announce DRUIDO'CASEY, Sean O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy, in partnership at NYU's Skirball. JOE'S PUB celebrates its 25th Anniversary Season with over 700 performances all year long.
“We are deeply proud of this season at The Public, a season of extraordinary artistic work that reflects our deepest values and passions. The work we do matters, the tremendously diverse artists who work here embody our belief that art is at its strongest when it is at its most inclusive." — Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis.
Summer/Fall 23.
DruidO’Casey
North American Premiere of Druid Theatre’s
DruidO’Casey
Sean O’Casey’s Dublin Trilogy
The Plough and the Stars
The Shadow of a Gunman
Juno and the Paycock
Directed by Garry Hynes
In Partnership with NYU Skirball
Performances at NYU Skirball – 566 LaGuardia Place
Begins Oct 4, 2023
A century ago, Ireland was reborn in the fires of rebellion and war. The playwright Sean O’Casey bore witness to these seismic events and dramatized them as the Dublin Trilogy, three great works of Irish theater, full of history, humanity, and humor. A hundred years later, Druid will weave O’Casey’s three plays into an epic theatrical event of conflict, national identity, and the human toll of war, DruidO’Casey. Audiences will experience O’Casey’s work as never before; directed by Tony Award winner Garry Hynes, a company of 18 actors will perform over 40 roles in these three classic plays.
*Partner and Supporter benefits will be excluded for this production.
Hell's Kitchen
World Premiere
Music & Lyrics by Alicia Keys
Book by Kristoffer Diaz
Choreography by Camille A. Brown
Directed by Michael Greif
Begins Oct 24, 2023
Grammy Award-winning artist Alicia Keys and Pulitzer Prize finalist playwright Kristoffer Diaz bring their exhilarating coming-of-age musical HELL’S KITCHEN to The Public this fall. In a cramped apartment hanging off the side of Times Square, 17-year-old Ali is desperate to get her piece of the New York dream. Ali’s mother is just as determined to protect her daughter from the same mistakes she made. When Ali falls for a talented young drummer, both mother and daughter must face hard truths about race, defiance, and growing up. Ali feels trapped, until the sound of a neighbor playing piano opens the door to an unexpected friendship and a radically different future. Choreographed by Tony Award nominee Camille A. Brown and directed by Tony Award nominee Michael Greif, HELL’S KITCHEN is an unforgettable new show featuring both newly created music and the soulful, iconic songs of New York’s own Alicia Keys.
Manahatta
New York Premiere
By Mary Kathryn Nagle
Directed by Laurie Woolery
Begins Nov 16, 2023
A gripping journey from the fur trade of the 1600s to the stock trade of today, Mary Kathryn Nagle’s MANAHATTA tells the story of Jane Snake, a brilliant young Native American woman with a Stanford MBA. Jane reconnects with her ancestral Lenape homeland, known as Manahatta, when she moves from Oklahoma to New York for a banking job just before the 2008 financial meltdown. Jane’s struggle to reconcile her new life with the expectations and traditions of her family and Nation are powerfully interwoven with the heartbreaking history of the Delaware Nation's expulsion from their land. Both old and new Manahatta converge in a lesson about the dangers of living in a society where there’s no such thing as enough. A stunning play about self-discovery, MANAHATTA was written as part of The Public’s prestigious Emerging Writers Group. The Public’s Director of Public Works, Laurie Woolery, directs.
Winter/Spring 24.
The Ally
World Premiere
By Itamar Moses
Directed by Lila Neugebauer
February 2024
Tony Award-winning playwright Itamar Moses (The Band’s Visit) returns to The Public with the world premiere of THE ALLY, a fierce drama that gives voice to some of the most contentious and important questions of our time.
When college professor Asaf (Josh Radnor) is asked by a student to sign a social justice manifesto, what seems at first like a simple choice instead embroils him in an increasingly complex web of conflicting agendas that challenge his allegiances as a progressive, a husband, an artist, an academic, an American, an atheist, and a Jew. With tensions at an all-time high, Asaf is forced to confront the age-old question: “If I am only for myself, what am I?”
Directed by Drama Desk Award winner Lila Neugebauer (The Wolves), THE ALLY is a passionate, provocative, and unflinching new play about the vanishing line between the personal and the political.
Please Note:
Production effects and content sensitivities vary from person to person, and we encourage you to contact us ([email protected] or 212.967.7555) if you have questions about any production. THE ALLY includes active discourse about Israelis and Palestinians, police violence, and racism.
Sally & Tom
New York Premiere
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III
In Association with The Guthrie Theater
March 2024
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks, the author of last season’s The Harder They Come, returns to her artistic home with an edgy dramedy that celebrates the craft of theater while taking a hard look at history. The off-off-off-Broadway theater troupe Good Company is putting on a play about Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson. Writer Luce is cast as Sally; her romantic partner, and the play’s director, Mike, is cast as Tom—really, people, what could possibly go wrong? In association with Minneapolis’s acclaimed Guthrie Theater, this funny, ferocious new work is about art, politics, and the contradictions that make all of us. Directed by Steve H. Broadnax III, SALLY & TOM is an unmissable New York premiere from one of our finest and most daring playwrights.
Jordans
World Premiere
By Ife Olujobi
Directed by Whitney White
April 2024
A bitingly funny, wildly imaginative new play by The Public’s Emerging Writers Group alumnus Ife Olujobi, JORDANS is a piercing exploration of assimilation, racial capitalism, success, and survival. At an overwhelmingly white workplace where appearance is everything, a long-suffering receptionist finds herself in personal, professional, and psychic jeopardy when her ruthless boss hires a hip new employee in an effort to improve the company’s image and “culture.” Suddenly, the two young, Black social climbers are forced together and torn apart by their race, ambition, and otherworldly circumstance. JORDANS is a story of identity mistaken, power subverted, and rage unleashed. Don’t miss this bold new play directed by Obie Award winner Whitney White about the true cost of “diversity” in the workplace.
Programs.
Joe's Pub
Celebrating its 25th Anniversary in October 2023, iconic music, comedy, and live performance venue Joe’s Pub continues tradition with a season of dynamic nightly performances.
The Joe’s Pub 2023-24 Vanguard Residency is awarded to singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo. The award and yearlong curatorial residency at Joe’s Pub will celebrate her contributions to popular culture and her role in the Joe’s Pub family of artists.
The Joe’s Pub New York Voices commissions for 2023-24 feature three works: Sarah Elizabeth Charles’ song cycle featuring music written to the poetry of Dr. Maya Angelou; Dan Fishback’s project Dan Fishback is Alive and Unwell and Living in His Apartment; and Omar Offendum’s Little Syria.
Free Shakespeare in the Park
FREE SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is one of the cornerstones of The Public Theater’s mission. Since 1962, over six million people have enjoyed more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals.
During the 2023 summer, The Public will present the classic drama HAMLET, directed by Tony Award winner Kenny Leon and featuring Tony Award nominee Ato Blankson-Wood in the title role, for an extended nine-week run.
Mobile Unit
MOBILE UNIT will return in 2024 with a free tour of a Shakespearean play. Part of The Public’s mission to make free theater and engage with communities around NYC, the production will visit all five boroughs, stopping at community sites around the city.
The Mobile Unit is a modern reimagining of Joseph Papp’s Mobile Theater, inspired by Ten Thousand Things Theater in Minneapolis, MN. The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit breaks down economic and geographic barriers to the arts by meeting our communities where they are—staging free professional theater productions in local neighborhood venues such as libraries, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, and community centers across all five New York City boroughs. Over the years, Mobile Unit has served thousands of audiences with critically acclaimed productions.
Public Works
PUBLIC WORKS, a major artistic program of the Public Theater, aims to restore and build community by connecting people through the creation of extraordinary works of art. Public Works is animated by the idea that theater is a place of possibility, where the boundaries that separate us from each other in the rest of life can fall away. Working with partner organizations in all five boroughs, Public Works invites community members to take classes, participate in programming, attend performances, and join in the creation of ambitious works of participatory theater.
Emerging Writers Group
EMERGING WRITERS GROUP is a program that provides key support and resources for writers at the early stages of their careers. Writers are selected bi-annually and receive a two-year fellowship facilitated by The Public’s New Work Development department. EWG meets twice a month for peer feedback on plays in progress as well as special sessions that connect the group to the wider landscape of New York City theater.
Devised Theater Working Group
The DEVISED THEATER WORKING GROUP (DTWG) is an artist resource group designed for live arts-makers of all disciplines. Formed as a complementary program to the Under the Radar Festival in 2014, DTWG creates an infrastructure to support collaborative collectives and other untraditional originators as they forge new theater by offering the dramaturgical, technical, artistic, and administrative resources of The Public Theater.
Support The Public
Consider becoming a Supporter to unlock early access to the 2023-2024 Season! Join in today with a gift of $100 or more to support theater of, by, and for all people. As thanks, you will receive savings on tickets and transaction fees, and a host of exciting benefits, for a full year.
Want Even Earlier Access? Join as a Supporter Plus, with a gift of $300 or more, for even earlier access to the season, as well as reserved seating for Free Shakespeare in the Park.
Join in today or call 212.967.7555 to learn more.
Team Public
Team Public is a new way to stay connected and engaged with The Public’s artists, staff, programming, events, and so much more. Team Public is part of our larger membership program. It is FREE and open to all. You will receive weekly calendar updates, downloadable content, artist spotlights, a monthly newsletter, historical fun facts, and special invitations to events and discussions.
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