One Public: New York’s Public Theater in the Era of Oskar Eustis

Since its founding by Joseph Papp in the 1950s, The Public Theater has been an American artistic leader defined by its breadth of programming, from Hair and A Chorus Line, to Free Shakespeare in the Park. With the recent critical and financial success of Fun Home and Hamilton, and its emphasis on new play development, The Public’s contemporary history has been equally remarkable, even as world crises and social changes have tested the mettle of its foundation of accessible and ＂radically inclusive＂ theatre for all.

One Public presents the broader organization, its creative methodology, and its enormous growth over the past 20 years. Framed by the tenure and leadership of its current artistic director, the book tells the contemporary story, recorded over many interviews with iconic practitioners and performers ranging from Diane Paulus, Tony Kushner and Lynn Nottage to Kevin Kline, Chelsea Clinton and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Case-study driven, One Public uses oral history accounts and authorial experience to illuminate The Public Theater, Eustis and their cultural influence on the city of New York and the greater United States. The story highlights the successes and challenges of an institution at once espousing a mission of inclusivity and community-based arts creation, while also developing Broadway hits and international fame.

One Public is also available in audiobook format from audiobook retailers.

Kevin Landis, PhD, MFA is Professor and Director of the Theatre and Dance Program at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, USA. His numerous published works range from culinary/theatrical intersections, to mobile Shakespeare, to American drag, and a book on performance anthropology. He has written about the Public Theater in American Theatre Magazine (＂The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit＂, March 2017) and served as a visiting scholar at the company.