Joseph Papp (June 22, 1921 - October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar Events 445 BC – Ezra reads the Book of the Law to the Israelites in Jerusalem (see Nehemiah 91 NLTse Year 1991 ( MCMXCI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. A theatre director or stage director is a practitioner in the Theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production (a play, He was a high school student of Harlem Renaissance playwright Eulalie Spence. The Harlem Renaissance was named after the anthology The New Negro, edited by Alain Locke in 1925 Eulalie Spence (June 11 1894 - March 7 1981 was a black female writer teacher Actress and Playwright from the British West Indies during the

Born in Brooklyn, New York to Jewish immigrants from Russia, Papp founded the New York Shakespeare Festival in 1954 with the aim of making Shakespeare's works accessible to the public. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous PLEASE TAKE NOTE************ Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending New York Shakespeare Festival is the traditional name of a sequence of shows organized by the Public Theater in New York City, most often being held at the Delacorte William Shakespeare ( baptised

Founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival

In 1957 he was granted the use of Central Park for free productions of Shakespeare's plays. Central Park is a large public Urban park in New York City, with about twenty-five million visitors annually By age 41 after the establishment of the Park's Delacorte Theater, Papp looked for an all-year theater he could make his own. The Delacorte Theater, established in 1962 is an open-air Theater located in Manhattan 's Central Park. After looking at other locations, Joe fell in love with Lafayette Street’s Astor Library for its location and character. With massive renovations in order, Joe moved his staff to his newly named Public Theater hoping to attract a newer, less conventional audience to new and innovative playwrights.

Papp also obtained the use of the Astor Library Building in 1967; this has since become known as the Joseph Papp Public Theater. 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

Joe depended on authors more than anyone and saw them in a much higher respect then actors or even directors, and his focus moved farther away from the Shakespearean classics. With plays such as Charles Gordone’s No Place to Be Somebody (the first African American dramatist and off-Broadway show to win the Pulitzer Prize) and the plays of David Rabe, Tom Babe, and Jason Miller, Joe brought the Public into a new phase. David William Rabe (born March 10 1940) is an American playwright and screenwriter Jason Miller (April 22 1939 – May 13 2001 was an American Actor and Pulitzer Prize -winning Playwright.

“…[w]ith the new playwrights, the whole direction of the theater changed. Joe changed direction and none of us realized for a while that he had changed direction. The Public Theater became more important than the Delacorte. The new playwrights became more interesting to Joe than Shakespeare. “ (Ming Cho Lee, Festival Designer)

Among the myriad plays and musical Papp produced, Papp is perhaps best known for his productions of Hair, The Pirates of Penzance, and A Chorus Line. Hair The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a Rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty is a Comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and Libretto by W A Chorus Line is a musical about seventeen Broadway Dancers auditioning for spots on a Chorus line.

Along with the Public Theater, Papp was best known for the New York Shakespeare Festival, which he founded, but he was also a Gilbert and Sullivan lover. Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian era partnership of Librettist W In 1980, to commemorate the centenary of The Pirates of Penzance, Papp mounted a souped-up, modernized version of the opera in Central Park. The Pirates of Penzance, or The Slave of Duty is a Comic opera in two acts with music by Arthur Sullivan and Libretto by W The show was a sensation, and Papp transferred it to the Broadway stage, where it ran for over 800 performances. It won Tony Awards for Best Revival, Best Director, Wilford Leach, and Best Actor, Kevin Kline, and Linda Ronstadt was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical. The Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Awards, recognize achievement in live American Theatre and are presented Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24 1947 is an American Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award and two time Tony Award -winning stage and film Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15 1946 in Tucson Arizona) is an American popular vocalist and Entertainer whose vocal styles in a variety The Papp production was much criticized in Gilbert & Sullivan circles. To make the opera more suitable for a Broadway audience, Papp's creative team wrote new orchestrations for a synthesizer-based orchestra. Musical tags were expanded or contracted, verses were transposed. The "fight scene" between the pirates and police, to which Sullivan had allotted only ten chords, was entirely rewritten. The Act II finale was restored to its first-night state. Liberties were taken with the dialogue too, though certainly not to the same degree as the music.

Fostering the Growth of New York Theatre

In addition to founding the New York Shakespeare Festival, Papp played a key role in the fostering of theatre throughout New York, in particular, the development of numerous Off Broadway theatres throughout his years as head of the NYSF. Off-Broadway plays or musicals are performed in New York City. Among the many theatres that Papp supported (often with funds from successful Broadway transfers, such as A Chorus Line) were Theatre for a New Audience, which presented several productions at the NYSF, and the Riverside Shakespeare Company, for whom Papp took a special interest, beginning with the sponsorship of the New York premiere of Brecht's Edward II in 1982, continuing with the financial underwriting of Riverside's New York Parks Tours of Free Shakespeare, including The Comedy of Errors in (1982), Merry Wives of Windsor in 1983, Romeo and Juliet in 1984, and Romeo and Juliet in 1985. A Chorus Line is a musical about seventeen Broadway Dancers auditioning for spots on a Chorus line. The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional (AEA theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City by W Edward II may refer to Edward II of England (1284–1327 King of England 1307–1327 ''Edward II'' (play, (1592 The Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare 's earliest plays believed to have been written between 1589 and 1594 The Merry Wives of Windsor is a Comedy by William Shakespeare, first published in 1602, though believed to have been written prior to 1597 Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the In 1983, Papp dedicated newly renovated theatre of The Shakespeare Center with Helen Hayes. The Shakespeare Center was the home of the Riverside Shakespeare Company, an Equity professional theatre company in New York City beginning in 1982 when the then six-year-old Helen Hayes ( October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was a two-time Academy Award -winning American Actress, whose ^[1] A complete listing of Festival productions is available in Joe Papp: An American Life by Helen Epstein.

Humanitarian Fund Created in Papp's Honor

In 2000 the Joseph Papp Children's Humanitarian Fund was founded. The Fund serves as the humanitarian arm of international Jewish children's club Tzivos Hashem's, activities in the Ukraine. Tzivos Hashem, was founded in 1981 by the Lubavitcher Rebbe and is today is the foremost worldwide organization serving the physical and spiritual needs of Jewish These projects include the ([1]) Esther and William Benenson and Family Homes for Boys and Girls, ([2]) The Marcia Wilf and Ira Yavarkovsky Children’s Medical Clinic, ([3]) Food on Wheels bus,([4]) Wheels for Life bus, ([5]) Eye Care Center and ([6]) Kids to Kids Clothes, Gift, and Craft Drives. The Fund holds an annual silent auction in New York City as a fundraiser, drawing the endorsement, and often the attendance, of many contemporary celebrities.

Joseph Papp died of prostate cancer, aged 70. His biography Joe Papp: An American Life was written by journalist Helen Epstein and published in 1994.

References

External links

Joe Papp Public Theatre: www.publictheater.org Joe Papp: An American Life by Helen Epstein available on amazon