ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: BUILDING PUBLIC(S): THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL Adam Sheaffer, Doctor of Philosophy, 2018 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Franklin J. Hildy, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies This dissertation explores the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater’s earliest history, with a special focus in the company’s evolving use of the rhetoric and concept of “public.” As founder Joseph Papp noted early in the theater’s history, they struggled to function as a “private organization engaged in public work.” To mitigate the challenges of this struggle, the company pursued potential audiences and publics for their theatrical and cultural offerings in a variety of spaces on the cityscape, from Central Park to neighborhood parks and common spaces to a 19th century historic landmark. In documenting and exploring the festival’s development and perambulations, this dissertation suggests that the festival’s position as both a private and public-minded organization presented as many opportunities as it did challenges. In this way, company rhetoric surrounding “public-ness” emerged as a powerful strategy for the company’s survival and growth, embodied most apparently by their current moniker as The Public Theater. BUILDING PUBLIC(S): THE EARLY HISTORY OF THE NEW YORK SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL by Adam Sheaffer Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy 2018 Advisory Committee: Professor Franklin J. Hildy, Chair Professor Laurie Frederik Professor Faedra Chatard Carpenter Professor Kent Cartwright Professor Christina Hanhardt Professor Denise Albanese © Copyright by Adam Sheaffer 2018 Dedication For all those, living and not, that climb the hill to see the play ii Acknowledgements I must first and foremost thank my advisor Dr. Franklin J. Hildy, for seeing this project through with me, from my earliest interest in outdoor Shakespeare to the incorporation of progressively wider spheres of relevance to both my world and the world of Theater Studies. This expansion could not have been possible, and proved infinitely richer with the guidance and prodding of Dr. Laurie Frederik, whose insight and patience proved critical during some of the project’s greatest challenges. Also critical and caring throughout the life of this dissertation was Dr. Faedra Carpenter whose enthusiasm buoyed me and inspired me. Both Laurie and Faedra’s belief in my capacities frequently outpaced my own, and for that I am forever grateful. Thanks also to the rest of my dissertation team, Dr. Kent Cartwright, Dr. Denise Albanese and Dr. Christina Hanhardt. I must also thank my family, for sharing the value of art and theatre throughout my life, and for their incredible support throughout the dissertation process. The first Shakespeare play I performed in was Midsummer Night’s Dream as a high school freshman, with my older brother Ben playing Oberon. This was my first taste of Shakespeare. I was thrilled to share that experience with you and I am thrilled to continue savoring our shared passion for Shakespeare and theatre. Endless thanks for your support and the support of Aimee and (future Shakespeareans) Oliver and Violet. The very first time that I went to the Delacorte Theater in Central Park was with my mother. We were both passionate about theatre, so passionate in fact, that not even a half an hour rain delay deterred us from watching the wonderful conclusion of iii The Winter’s Tale. Thank you for taking that journey with me, and for your endless support on this journey. When I was no more than 8 years old, I found some old black and white production photos, each of which had a familiar face, my father as a tender and callow actor in college. Thank you for setting the example, inside the theatre and out. I do not know where I would be in this process without the incredible support from you and Tim. Very special thanks must go to Jess Krenek for her extraordinary support and true friendship. I cannot imagine what life at UMD would have been without you there to share it, occasionally curse it and always in the end, laugh about it. I cannot wait to laugh about this when it’s over. Special thanks as well to Dr. Lee Stille who guided me through my earliest forays into academia with tremendous support, good humor and an always curious mind. I reluctantly discovered theatre in high school. I met the most incredible group of friends, known as “the boys.” Lloyd, Wesley, Peter, Brian, Chris and Arik, thanks for your support, laughs, insults and friendship for so many years. I cannot imagine my life without these indestructible friendships. I also cannot imagine our time in high school drama without our fearless leader, the late Barbara Gensler. Her passion lit a fire under me that burns to this day and helped fuel this project’s development. Thanks to friends far away whose support across time zones proved nourishing throughout my time as a doctoral student. Jenny, Julie and Maggie, you are true and wonderful friends and thanks for keeping me connected to the life that helped my work and world as a doctoral student. iv Finally, I must thank my beloved Thalia, for her unimaginable support, patience and enthusiasm throughout the last two critical years of this dissertation. I am thankful beyond words for your belief in my work and me. All I can say is ‘thanks, thanks and ever thanks.’ I love you and cannot wait for the next ‘chapter.’ v Table of Contents Dedication………………………………………………………………..…...ii Acknowledgements……………………………………………………..….…iii Table of Contents………………………………………………………..……vi Introduction………………………………………………………………….…1 Chapter 1: Borders & Frontiers………………………………………………..24 Chapter 2: Fighting for Festivalising, Winning the Public………………....….52 Chapter 3: Charting the Territory……………………………………….…..…80 Chapter 4: Space, Play & the Boundaries of Public(s…………………….….112 Chapter 5: Of House & Home; the NYSF’s Search for a Permanent Space…149 Chapter 6: What is the City, but the Public! …………………………………185 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………221 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………..236 vi Introduction The New York Shakespeare Festival (NYSF) and later the Public Theater came of age in the prosperous and turbulent 1950s and 1960s in New York City. Amidst profound demographic shifts and the tail end of the urban renewal boom of the 1930s and 1940s, company founder Joseph Papp grew his company from a modest workshop dedicated to the exploration of Shakespeare’s work into a vast, multi-sited theatrical institution. As the institutional reach of the NYSF extended, the company’s relationship with the city of New York intensified. Deployment of the term ‘public,’ by Papp and others within the company, increased and evolved with this relationship, as did Papp and other’s deployment of the ‘public.’ This dissertation seeks to examine the NYSF’s uses of this elusive term in their earliest history. A handful of scholars, beginning in the late 1960s have considered the festival’s growth and development. None, however, have substantially pursued what has become a defining characteristic of the institution; namely how the NYSF (ans laterPublic Theater deployed the term and concept ‘public’ throughout their earliest history in several spaces and sites of performance. Review of Literature: This project sits at the intersection of several overlapping bodies of historical and theoretical literature. The largest of these bodies are works devoted specifically to the study of the NYSF, and mainly recount the company’s history, consider the company’s casting practices, focus on Papp as a producer, or select provocative or representative productions for analysis. Other relevant sources include works that frame Shakespeare more broadly in American life, as a figure produced and 1 appropriated in a variety of ways, and works that address the myriad theatrical influences – both historical and contemporary – upon the company. Scholarly consideration of the NYSF’s early history began in earnest around 1967 when the company began production at the Astor Library, and proliferated as operations expanded to include televised presentations of the company’s offerings as well as a residency at Lincoln Center starting in 1973. Both of these developments increased the NYSF’s exposure to a wider audience, and further cemented their institutional status on the off-Broadway theatre scene. Another important shift – which might help to explain an uptick in scholarly interest – came with the commercial success of the company’s musical adaptation of Shakespeare’s Two Gentlemen of Verona in 1972, and the monumentally successful musical A Chorus Line in 1975. Both productions began at one of the company’s “permanent” homes – the Delacorte Theatre and Astor Library respectively – before moving to Broadway. It is difficult to imagine how the company’s overall history might have unfolded without the success of these two productions, as they netted the NYSF ticket revenues, outside funding, and media exposure they could have only dreamed of in their earliest incarnation as the New York Shakespeare Workshop (NYSW). The most comprehensive account of the company’s history came from Yoko Hashimoto’s 1972 dissertation, Joseph Papp and the New York Shakespeare Festival. As with most other histories of the NYSF – and somewhat with good reason – Hashimoto begins her dissertation with the biography of Joseph Papp, underscoring the