Your '21/22 Programming
It’s time. The Public’s flagship home at Astor Place is filling up once again with people, music, art, and conversation. Join in and be a part of this anticipated new season and celebrate in bringing all The Public’s spaces back to life.
We return with exciting works from Saheem Ali, Jaclyn Backhaus, Samantha Chanse, Mia Chung, Erika Dickerson-Despenza, James Ijames, Naomi Iizuka, Candis C. Jones, Daniel Alexander Jones, Raja Feather Kelly, Tom Kitt, Kwame Kwei-Armah, Lorin Latarro, Mona Mansour, Anna Ouyang Moench, Suzan-Lori Parks, Ralph B. Peña, Leigh Silverman, Niegel Smith, Lloyd Suh, Daniel Sullivan, Shaina Taub, Les Waters, Mark Wing-Davey, and Brian Yorkey.
And we join forces with NAATCO, National Black Theatre, and Ma-Yi Theater Company to present stunning new stories.
But that's not all. Nightly music returns to Joe’s Pub. The Mobile Unit returns to all five boroughs with free performances, and we welcome back our annual Under the Radar Festival.
Become a Public Theater Partner or Supporter and take advantage of Priority Access periods, savings on tickets, and a host of other benefits.
It’s time. Your 2021-22 season is happening.
As we return, we all must play our part around Health and Safety. Learn more with Safe at The Public.
THE VISITOR
Begins October 7
World Premiere Musical
Music by Tom Kitt
Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Book by Kwame Kwei-Armah & Brian Yorkey
Choreography by Lorin Latarro
Directed by Daniel Sullivan
Based on the Groundswell Productions and Participant Media motion picture written by Thomas McCarthy
With heart, humor, and lush new songs, Pulitzer Prize and Tony-winning team Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey and Kwame Kwei-Armah bring their soul-stirring new musical based on the acclaimed independent film, THE VISITOR by Thomas McCarthy, to The Public for its World Premiere.
CULLUD WATTAH
Begins November 2
World Premiere
By Erika Dickerson-Despenza
Directed by Candis C. Jones
2021 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize winner Erika Dickerson-Despenza’s new Afro-surrealist play premieres at The Public about three generations of Black women living through the current water crisis in Flint, Michigan. It’s been 936 days since Flint has had clean water.
PLAYS FOR THE PLAGUE YEAR
World Premiere
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Niegel Smith
On March 13, 2020, as theaters shut their doors and so many of us went into lockdown, celebrated playwright Suzan-Lori Parks picked up her pen and set out to write a play every day. What emerged is a breathtaking chronicle of our collective experience throughout the troubling days and nights that followed.
ALTAR NO. 1 – ATEN
Weekly Installments to be Released Beginning September 22
World Premiere
Digital Album by Daniel Alexander Jones
Acclaimed theater artist Daniel Alexander Jones’ latest work, ALTAR NO. 1 – ATEN uses our solar system as both metaphor and method for an immersive journey through the celestial, within and without.
UNDER THE RADAR FESTIVAL
January 12-23, 2022
January 2022 will bring a fully live in-person Under the Radar Festival back to The Public. A highlight of the festival will be performances by the Devised Theater Working Group, who have been developing projects for the past two years.
OUT OF TIME
February 2022
World Premiere Plays
By Jaclyn Backhaus, Sam Chanse, Mia Chung, Naomi Iizuka, and Anna Ouyang Moench
Commissioned and Produced by NAATCO
Conceived and Directed by Les Waters
Presented by The Public Theater
The Public and The National Asian American Theatre Company (NAATCO) join forces in presenting OUT OF TIME, a collection of brand-new monologues by five award-winning Asian American playwrights, performed by an ensemble of actors all over the age of 60.
THE CHINESE LADY
February 2022
By Lloyd Suh
The Barrington Stage Company and Ma-Yi Theater Company Production
Directed by Ralph B. Peña
Presented by The Public Theater
Inspired by the true story of the first Chinese woman to step foot in America, Lloyd Suh’s critically-acclaimed play, THE CHINESE LADY, is a tale of dark poetic whimsy and a unique portrait of the United States as seen through the eyes of a young Chinese girl.
SUFFS
March 2022
World Premiere Musical
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Shaina Taub
Choreography by Raja Feather Kelly
Directed by Leigh Silverman
A musical event one hundred years in the making, SUFFS brings to life a complicated chapter in the ongoing battle for the right to vote: the American women’s suffrage movement.
THE VAGRANT TRILOGY
April 2022
New York Premiere
By Mona Mansour
Directed by Mark Wing-Davey
Mona Mansour, award-winning playwright and alumna of The Public’s Emerging Writers Group, delves into the Palestinian struggle for home and identity in THE VAGRANT TRILOGY, a single epic story told in three parts.
FAT HAM
May 2022
New York Premiere Play
Co-Production with National Black Theatre
By James Ijames
Directed by Saheem Ali
Critically-acclaimed playwright James Ijames reinvents Shakespeare’s masterpiece with his new drama, FAT HAM. Juicy is a queer, Southern college kid, already grappling with some serious questions of identity, when the ghost of his father shows up in their backyard, demanding that Juicy avenge his murder.
JOE’S PUB
Begins October 5
Joe's Pub reopens this fall, ushering in the return of the best in live music and performance to NYC. With multi-night runs on Tuesdays-Saturdays and shows nightly on Sundays and Mondays, the dynamic season line-up will kick off on Tuesday, October 5 with Justin Vivian Bond and The Illustrious Blacks. Laurie Anderson’s Vanguard Award and Residency will be extended through summer 2022, as will the current cohort of the Joe’s Pub Working Group, which includes Salty Brine, Sarah Elizabeth Charles, Jaime Lozano, Roopa Mahadevan, and Kirsten Maxwell. For the first time ever, from October through December, all tickets on Tuesdays will be $10 (limit two per person).
MOBILE UNIT
In its 10th year, The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit is a modern reimagining of Joseph Papp’s Mobile Theater. The Mobile Unit reaches across economic and geographic barriers to the arts by meeting our communities where they are – staging free professional theater productions and programs in local neighborhood venues such as libraries, homeless shelters, correctional facilities, and community centers across all five New York City boroughs.
PUBLIC WORKS
PUBLIC WORKS, a major initiative of The Public Theater, aims to restore and build community by connecting people through the creation of extraordinary works of art.
#BARS WORKSHOP
#BARS WORKSHOP is a lab series created by Rafael Casal and Daveed Diggs that is returning to in-person sessions in the summer of 2022. #BARS went digital in October 2020 with Rafael Casal, Daveed Diggs, and Chris Walker hosting monthly online Lab sessions with incredible guest artists that were free and open to the public.
PUBLIC SHAKESPEARE INITIATIVE
PUBLIC SHAKESPEARE INITIATIVE offers a wide range of programming which includes larger Public Shakespeare Presents evenings, blending incisive commentary by scholars and other thinkers with appearances by artists of all disciplines; intimate Public Shakespeare Talks, giving audiences unique insight into the artistic and intellectual processes of leading Shakespeare practitioners working in the theater; Artist Development Programs, to cultivate some of the most visionary artistic minds working on Shakespeare today; and Education Programs, specifically the Hunts Point Children’s Shakespeare Ensemble.
EMERGING WRITERS GROUP
EMERGING WRITERS GROUP is a long-term program that provides key support and resources for writers at every stage of their careers. It creates a fertile community and fosters a web of supportive artistic relationships across generations.
PUBLIC FORUM
PUBLIC FORUM is The Public Theater’s space where art, ideas, and action collide. Public Forum creates exciting opportunities for communities to engage deeply with current events, original thinkers, and the most pressing questions of our time.
SUPPORT THE PUBLIC
Consider becoming a Supporter to unlock early access to the 21/22 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, 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.
