Public/Private: My Life with Joe Papp at the Public Theater

Blending a behind-the-scenes history about New York City's Public Theater with an engrossing account of her life working alongside her husband, the Public's founder Joe Papp, Public/Private is Gail Merrifield Papp's enthralling and highly entertaining memoir about the legendary theatrical institution. Opening with its early days in the Sixties, her narrative spans the decades-long theatrical partnership the couple enjoyed until Joe's death in 1991. During that time, the Public staged hundreds of productions, ranging from free Shakespeare in Central Park to new plays, such as Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf, and musicals like Hair and A Chorus Line--an extraordinary body of work that launched the careers of dozens of actors, includingJames Earl Jones, Colleen Dewhurst, Gloria Foster, Morgan Freeman, Raúl Juliá, Kevin Kline, George C. Scott, Martin Sheen, Meryl Streep, and Diane Venora, all of whom make an appearance in the book.

In a witty conversational style, Gail Papp paints a comprehensive picture of the ways that the Public was driven by Joe's ambition to create a democratic theater whose artists and audiences would reflect the city's population. Also highlighted are unfamiliar aspects of his many battles with the establishment, from tilts with Robert Moses to theater critics. The scourge of AIDS is also documented in the form of people close to Joe and Gail, and in the toll it exacted on Joe's son, Tony. In recounting setbacks and frustrations alongside moments of passionate artistry and theatrical innovation, Gail's personal remembrances lend the narrative a keen, emotional edge which will captivate readers. At a time when America remains divided over issues of equality, identity, and freedom of expression, Public/Private is an important chronicle of how the Public Theater became a transformative beacon for social change--and of the man who created it.