New York Shakespeare Festival - The Plays

The Plays

Works by Shakespeare are always included in the festival's seasonal lineup; generally three productions with two-week runs. However, other playwrights have been featured, including Anton Chekhov, Gilbert and Sullivan, Eric Bogosian, Sam Shepard, and Samuel Beckett. The 2006 season featured Mother Courage by Bertolt Brecht. The festival has also show musical productions including the Tony Award Winning revival of Hair and the 2012 season will feature Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Into the Woods.

A notable exception came in the year a dispute occurred between Joseph Papp and the City of New York over public funding for his productions at the Delacorte. In a dramatic move of independence and zest, Joseph Papp denied the city any Shakespeare at the Delacorte for a summer, instead moving the Public's production of Pirates of Penzance to the uptown location. There have been few altercations between the city and the Public since, though the Public relies heavily on private funding. In 2005, the theater company was among 406 New York City arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg.