Joe Papp in Five Acts

The story

Joe Papp, the founder of the New York Shakespeare Festival and, subsequently, The Public Theater—arguably the most important theatre in North America—is profiled in this documentary that neither sanctifies nor vilifies him. He brought us free Shakespeare in the Park, Hair and A Chorus Line, and nurtured many of America’s greatest playwrights, directors and actors. His complex personality and mercurial behavior are much in evidence and spoken of with frankness through interviews with some of America’s most celebrated artists, including Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Kevin Kline, and James Earl Jones.

Cast & crew

Olympia DukakisSelf

David HareSelf

David Henry HwangSelf

James Earl JonesSelf

Larry KramerSelf

Joseph Papp

Joseph PappSelf

David Rabe

David RabeSelf

Meryl StreepSelf

Christopher WalkenSelf

George C. WolfeSelf