Public Theater Hosts Sondheim/Kushner Talk at Skirball Center, 11/29

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) announced ticket information today for the third Public Forum event, "The Public Forum: Sondheim/Kushner," held at the New York University's Skirball Center on Monday, November 29 at 8 p.m. Curated by Jeremy McCarter, The Public Forum is an exciting new series of lectures, debates and conversations that showcase leading voices in the arts, politics and the media. Tickets are $25 and currently on sale to Public Theater members. Any remaining single tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, November 17.

Co-presented by NYU Skirball Center, the season's third Public Forum event, "The Public Forum: Sondheim/Kushner," welcomes two giants of the American Theater, Stephen Sondheim and Tony Kushner together for one night on one stage. Stephen Sondheim will mark the publication of his new memoir and lyric anthology, Finishing the Hat, by discussing his book, the craft of writing plays, and the theatrical life in a riveting one-on-one discussion with Tony Kushner (Angels in America, Caroline, or Change). The evening will be hosted by Rocco Landesman, the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, who has produced shows by both writers.

The Public Forum's season continues on Monday, November 15 with "Who Lost America?", an exciting evening at The Public Theater featuring Hendrik Hertzberg (The New Yorker), Sam Tanenhaus (The New York Times Book Review), and playwright Lisa Kron (In the Wake) discussing how the nation has changed in the 10 years since Bush v. Gore. In addition, Tony Award-winner Michael Cerveris and members of The Civilians will perform songs about America by Michael Friedman (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson). $25 tickets on sale now.

The Forum's fall season will conclude on Tuesday, December 14 with "Afghanistan After America, America After Afghanistan," a challenging discussion on the conflicts in Afghanistan held in conjunction with The Public Theater's presentation of The Great Game: Afghanistan also at NYU's Skirball Center.

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Tony Kushner's new play The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism With a Key To The Scriptures will premiere at The Public Theater in March. Kushner's plays include A Bright Room Called Day; Angels in America, Parts One and Two; Slavs!; Homebody/Kabul; and Caroline, or Change, a musical with composer Jeanine Tesori. He has adapted and translated Pierre Corneille's The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky's The Dybbuk, Bertolt Brecht's The Good Person of Sezuan and Mother Courage and Her Children; and the English-language libretto for the opera Brundibár by Hans Krasa. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols' film of Angels In America, and Steven Spielberg's Munich. His books include Brundibar, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; The Art of Maurice Sendak, 1980 to the Present; and Wrestling With Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon. Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award, an Emmy Award and an Oscar nomination, among other honors. In 2008, he was the first recipient of the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award.

Rocco Landesman is the chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Before becoming a government official, he was a Broadway producer whose credits include Into the Woods (1987), Angels in America (1993), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996), and Caroline, or Change (2004).

Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for Saturday Night, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, The Frogs, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, Passion and Road Show as well as lyrics for Gypsy and Do I Hear A Waltz? and additional lyrics for Candide. Anthologies of his work include Side by Side by Sondheim, Marry Me A Little, You're Gonna Love Tomorrow, Putting It Together and Sondheim on Sondheim. For films, he composed the scores of Stavisky, co-composed Reds and wrote songs for Dick Tracy and the television production Evening Primrose. He co-authored the film The Last of Sheila and the play Getting Away With Murder. Sondheim is on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, having served as its President from 1973 to 1981.

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY'S Jack H. Skirball CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS is the premier venue for the presentation of cultural and performing arts events for NYU and lower Manhattan. Led by Executive Producer Jay Oliva (President Emeritus, NYU) and Director Michael Harrington, the programs of the Skirball Center reflect NYU's mission as an international center of scholarship, defined by excellence and innovation and shaped by an intellectually rich and diverse environment. A vital aspect of the Center's mission is to build young adult audiences for the future of live performance. 

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director; Andrew D. Hamingson, Executive Director) was founded by Joseph Papp in 1954 and is now one of the nation's preeminent cultural institutions, producing new plays, musicals, and productions of classics at its downtown headquarters and at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. The Public's mandate to create a theater for all New Yorkers continues to this day onstage and through extensive outreach and education programs. Each year, over 250,000 people attend Public Theater-related productions and events at six downtown stages, including Joe's Pub, and Shakespeare in the Park. The Public has won 42 Tony Awards, 151 Obies, 41 Drama Desk Awards and four Pulitzer Prizes. The Public has brought 54 shows to Broadway, including Sticks and Bones; That Championship Season; A Chorus Line; The Pirates of Penzance; The Tempest; Bring In ‘Da Noise, Bring In ‘Da Funk; On the Town; The Ride Down Mt. Morgan; Topdog/Underdog; Elaine Stritch at Liberty; Take Me Out; Caroline, or Change; Well; Passing Strange; the Tony Award-winning revival of Hair; and this fall, the rock musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and the 2010 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Merchant of Venice. 

All tickets for The Public Forum are $25. Single tickets for "The Public Forum: Sondheim/Kushner" on Monday, November 29 at 8 p.m. at NYU Skirball Center are on sale now to Public Theater members. Any remaining single tickets for the one-night-only event will go on sale on Wednesday, November 17 at (212) 352-3101, www.skirballcenter.nyu.edu, or in person at NYU Skirball Center Box Office.

NYU Skirball Center is located at 566 LaGuardia Place at Washington Square. For more information on The Public Forum event, please visit www.publictheater.org.

 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/WM Photos