Joe Papp: The Man Behind Shakespeare in the Park

Published Nov. 12, 2009 at 11:29 p.m.
If you want to understand Joe Papp, don't think of his story as a showbiz fable, though it's certainly one of those: the poor Brooklyn, N.Y., kid who built a theatrical empire is one of the most captivating characters in our cultural history. To appreciate him properly, think of him as a kind of frontiersman. As the founding producer of the New York Shakespeare Festival and the Public Theater, he took American drama to places it hadn't been before: seeking out new voices, changing the look and sound of Shakespeare, and, above all, serving up plays in Central Park for free. This took vision, tenacity, and—rare for his line of work—moments of real physical courage. "I've had more knives pointed at me than you can imagine," he said. That's not a metaphor.

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