Has the Public Theater lost its relevance?- Page 2

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 2/19/26 at 4:37pm

Cool, but thankfully for the millions of people who live across the boroughs and the millions more willing to travel for something special, theater isn't exclusively for midtown tourists who are afraid of riding a few subway stops. 

[JSquared2]

Posted: 2/19/26 at 4:40pm

Merkin2 said: "I don’t even like going downtownhonestly, will only do it for something great. The Skin of Our Teeth wasn’t worth it. Glass Kill What If was terrible except the impressive “circus” acts in between the scenes. Sally and Tom was very good and worthy of a Broadway transfer

I prefer all the off broadway theaters to be on the outskirts of Broadway like Laura pels, and my favorite PH"

 

You, Broadway Flash, are EXACTLY the type of person we want to keep in Times Square and far away from the rest of the city!  

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 2/19/26 at 5:05pm

Ever since Joe Papp didn't have the forethought to make sure the Public got a piece of the future life of HAIR (the first show the Public ever produced) the theatre has been relatively obsessed with the idea of funding projects that could potentially fund their coffers through commercial production. Obviously, WARRIORS is going to be the latest iteration of that.

The problem has been that in more recent years the Public has balanced that quest with programming that prioritizes diversity and inclusion but hasn't been at the level of the writing of past works that did those things while also managing to champion great playwrighting.

[joevitus]

Posted: 2/19/26 at 5:18pm

JSquared2 said: "Merkin2 said: "I don’t even like going downtownhonestly, will only do it for something great. The Skin of Our Teeth wasn’t worth it. Glass Kill What If was terrible except the impressive “circus” acts in between the scenes. Sally and Tom was very good and worthy of a Broadway transfer

I prefer all the off broadway theaters to be on the outskirts of Broadway like Laura pels, and my favorite PH"



You, Broadway Flash, are EXACTLY the type of person we want to keep in Times Square and far away from the rest of the city!"

Surely this is on the itinerary for some city beautification project.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Posted: 2/19/26 at 5:28pm

Any hope for this new "Antigone" play?

It has Tony Shalhoub, it can’t be all bad…

[Merkin2]

Posted: 2/19/26 at 7:36pm

Nothing to do with being afraid. Midtown is seedier than uptown or downtown.  It’s about convenience.  And there seems to be a trend of theater companies moving west of 8th Ave in the theater district for that very reason. 

[Melissa25]

Posted: 2/19/26 at 7:45pm

Christ. The Public Theater is a sacred space for me. Have they lost their way a bit?  Perhaps but who the hell hasn't lately. Could they use new leadership? Yes, it is probably time for some new artistic blood. But we "theater lovers" should be supporting them not throwing them under the bus for crying out loud. It seems like they get criticized for no recent Broadway transfers and then get criticized for wanting a win with a transfer. I have seen many more interesting, artistically challenging works vs. duds. I liked The Skin of Our Teeth. Not a Broadway transfer but I had a good time and I got to see real theater actors not celebrities. That should count for something.

Oh, and I for one am very happy they spent the money on redesigning the lobby because it is a beautiful gathering space. And I am exceedingly grateful for the new ladies room. I remember the old one that had two stalls. The Public Theater is still very relevant to me.

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 2/19/26 at 9:47pm

Great space.  The artistry has just suffered since the Hamilton / Sweat days.

[Merkin2]

Posted: 2/20/26 at 6:34am

The lobby still sucks.  Theres still not enough seating.  I wonder why they don’t use the Delacorte more.  Couldn’t they do two summer shows?  Especially when the one they do do is a total sell out?  It feels like a waste.  New leadership now!

[No Leg Room]

Posted: 2/20/26 at 10:06am

Poor seating in main lobby 2 or 3 benches and 100 people standing. 

[SteveSanders]

Posted: 2/20/26 at 11:09am

Is there a universally understood definition for "throwing someone/thing under a bus"?  Because I haven't seem much in this thread that would come close to qualifying by my own.

[BJR]

Posted: 2/20/26 at 12:00pm

No Leg Room said: "Poor seating in main lobby 2 or 3 benches and 100 people standing."

Since when is this a req for a lobby? Near zero Bway houses have it, NYTW, and more. Sure Signature and CSC do but they run coffee shops out of their lobbies, open during outside hours. 

[ColorTheHours048]

Posted: 2/20/26 at 12:08pm

BJR said: "No Leg Room said: "Poor seating in main lobby 2 or 3 benches and 100 people standing."

Since when is this a req for a lobby? Near zero Bway houses have it, NYTW, and more. Sure Signature and CSC do but they run coffee shops out of their lobbies, open during outside hours."

Broadway houses don’t have up to 4 different shows playing simultaneously with roughly the same curtain time. Eustis also emphasized, in the lead up to the lobby renovation, that he wanted it to be a place where you could socialize before and after a show. Instead, the only place where you can actually do that is their overpriced restaurant.

Updated On: 2/20/26 at 12:08 PM

[Kad]

Posted: 2/20/26 at 2:07pm

Merkin2 said: "The lobby still sucks. Theres still not enough seating. I wonder why they don’t use the Delacorte more. Couldn’t they do two summer shows? Especially when the one they do do is a total sell out? It feels like a waste. New leadership now!"


Shakespeare in the Park has almost always done two shows, the last couple summers being an exception because of extenuating circumstances (Covid and then the Delacorte renovations). This summer they’re doing R&J and Winter’s Tale. And if there’s a Public Works show, that’s a third production, on top of other programming. 

Updated On: 2/20/26 at 02:07 PM

[JSquared2]

Posted: 2/20/26 at 3:15pm

Merkin2 said: "The lobby still sucks. Theres still not enough seating. I wonder why they don’t use the Delacorte more. Couldn’t they do two summer shows? Especially when the one they do do is a total sell out? It feels like a waste. New leadership now!"

Dude, I've gotta know -- does it HURT to be so ignorant?  Are you workshopping material for a standup act??

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 2/21/26 at 9:58pm

It's hard for me to keep up any more. How many original fakes, and how many second, third, ...n fakes do we have posting in this thread (that's not even that long yet). 

On the basic subject of the thread, I have found Oskar insufferable for years, and yes they need fresh leadership desperately: folks who are interested in development on the literary side AND the money side. If I were asked for advice (I won't be) I would tell them that the way to honor Joe Papp's vision and mission is to start by getting big corporate and foundation donors to support a ticket price initiative AND serious new play development. Bribing donors with tickets is not the way to get the job done.

[TheOtherOne2]

Posted: 2/21/26 at 11:10pm

Jay Lerner-Z said: "Any hope for this new "Antigone" play?

It has Tony Shalhoub, it can’t be all bad…"

I was just about to ask if anyone had seen this.  Tony, Celia Keenan Bolger -- I would love for it to be good.

 

[Kad]

Posted: 2/21/26 at 11:41pm

Any last lingering shred of respect I had for Eustis was lost when he pushed the Under the Radar Festival out.