Coordinates: 40°43′45.1848″N 73°59′30.4548″W / 40.729218°N 73.991793°W / 40.729218; -73.991793

The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as The Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers. It is headquartered at 425 Lafayette Street in the former Astor Library in the East Village section of Lower Manhattan. The venue opened in 1967, mounting the world-premiere production of the musical HAIR as its first show. It currently is led by Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham.

The Public is dedicated to embracing the complexities of contemporary society and nurturing both artists and audiences, as it continues Joseph Papp's legacy of creating a place of inclusion and a forum for ideas.

In addition to five theater venues – the Shiva, the Martinson, the LuEsther Hall, the Anspacher and the Newman – the site is home to Joe's Pub, a cabaret-style setting used for new work, musical performances, spoken-word artists and soloists.

The Public is the people and society of a nation or community, or the whole of mankind.

The Public may also refer to:

Rinne Groff is an American playwright and performer.

Groff was trained at Yale University and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, where she currently teaches.

A founding member of Elevator Repair Service Theater Company, she has been a part of the writing, staging, and performing of their shows since the company’s inception in 1991. She is at work on a commission from The Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis.

With playwright/lyricist John Dempsey and composer Michael Friedman, Groff co-wrote the book and lyrics for the stage musical adaptation of the movie Saved!. Her play Compulsion opens Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on February 1, 2011, starring Mandy Patinkin and directed by Oskar Eustis. The play had previously played at Yale Repertory Theatre and Berkeley Repertory Theatre, both in 2010.

Oskar Eustis (born 31 Jul 1958) is the artistic director at the Public Theater and has worked as a director, dramaturg, and artistic director for theaters around the country.

From 1981 through 1986 he was resident director and dramaturg at the Eureka Theatre Company in San Francisco, and Artistic Director until 1989, when he moved to the L.A.'s Mark Taper Forum as Associate Artistic Director until 1994. Mr. Eustis then served as Artistic Director at Trinity Rep in Providence, Rhode Island for eleven years. In 2005 he took the helm at New York's Public Theater.

He was a professor of Theatre, Speech and Dance at Brown University, where he founded and chaired the Trinity Rep/Brown University Consortium for professional theater training. He also served on the faculty of The Bread Loaf School of English at Middlebury College. He received an honorary doctorate from Brown in 2001 and currently serves as Professor of Dramatic Writing and Arts and Public Policy at New York University.

Eustis describes his role at the Public as both producer and dramaturge. In a conversation with set designer David Korins for BOMB Magazine, Eustis said, “The producer gives me the power; the dramaturgy gives me the brains.”

Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. She is widely regarded as one of the most talented actors of all time.

Streep made her professional stage debut in The Playboy of Seville (1971), before her screen debut in the television movie Deadliest Season (1977). In that same year, she made her film debut with Julia (1977). Both critical and commercial success came quickly with roles in The Deer Hunter (1978) and Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), the former giving Streep her first Academy Award nomination and the latter her first win. She later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in Sophie's Choice (1982) and The Iron Lady (2011).

Streep has received 17 Academy Award nominations, winning three, and 26 Golden Globe nominations, winning eight, more nominations than any other actor in the history of either award. Her work has also earned her two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, five New York Film Critics Circle Awards, two BAFTA awards, an Australian Film Institute Award, five Grammy Award nominations, and a Tony Award nomination, amongst others. She was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2004 and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2009 for her contribution to American culture through performing arts, the youngest actress in each award's history.