Joseph Papp
American producer and director · United States · On the map · Directors · Lived 1921 to 1991 · aged 70
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classical theater accessible to all people by producing free-of-charge performances.
Joseph Papp is read about 72 times a day, in 11 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 25 August 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 60 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?A life in dates
PlentyFilm, Producer1983
The Pirates of PenzanceFilm, Producer1982
Alice at the PalaceFilm, Producer1981
Kiss Me, PetruchioFilm, Producer1980
Happy DaysFilm, Producer1979
CoriolanusFilm, Producer1978Theatre World Special AwardAward
Black Theatre: The Making of a MovementFilm, 19781975
Saturday Night LiveSeries
Our Late NightFilm, 1975Producer1974
Wedding BandFilm, Director1973
Much Ado About NothingFilm, Producer1972
The Mind SnatchersFilm, Producer1968
The Dick Cavett ShowSeries1964
HamletFilm, Director1956
Tony AwardsSeries1921Born22 June 1921People around Joseph
Close ties
Meryl Streep Joseph produced Plenty and Alice at the Palace
Raul Julia Joseph directed Othello (1979)
Morgan Freeman Joseph produced Coriolanus (1979)
Denzel Washington Joseph produced Coriolanus (1979)
Sting Joseph produced Plenty (1987)
Ian McKellen Joseph produced Plenty (1987)
Angela Lansbury Joseph produced The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
Sam Neill Joseph produced Plenty (1987)
Kevin Kline Joseph produced The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
Linda Ronstadt Joseph produced The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
Charles Dance Joseph produced Plenty (1987)
Julie Harris Joseph directed Hamlet (1964)
Tracey Ullman Joseph produced Plenty (1987)
CCH Pounder Joseph produced Coriolanus (1979)
John Randolph Joseph directed Hamlet (1964)
Marc Alaimo Joseph directed Hamlet (1964)
Ian Wallace Joseph produced Plenty (1987)
Nan Martin Joseph directed Hamlet (1964)
Roger Ashton-Griffiths Joseph produced Plenty (1987)
Earle Hyman Joseph produced Coriolanus (1979)
Rex Smith Joseph produced The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
André Maranne Joseph produced Plenty (1987)
Peter Francis James Joseph produced Coriolanus (1979)
Tim Bentinck, 12th Earl of Portland Joseph produced The Pirates of Penzance (1983)
Also in Deutsch
Filmography 16
22 credits on file
Television 3
Media & music
Photos 9
Brooklyn, New York
The Public Theater, housed in the Astor Library Building
Charles Gordone, the first African American to win the Pulitzer Prize.
Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
The Delacorte Theater, home of Shakespeare in the Park
The covers of the report "Communism in the U.S.A." by the U.S. House Un-American Activities Committee and the Supplement to the 5th Report by the California Un-American Activities Committee.
J. Edgar HooverAwards
About this person
He was a known advocate for non-traditional and diverse casting practices. He established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in Lower Manhattan. There Papp created a year-round producing home to focus on new plays and musicals. Eventually, one of the six performance spaces inside the Public Theater was renamed Joe's Pub in honor of Joseph Papp. It continues to host live performances across a wide range of art forms. Among numerous examples of these were the works of David Rabe, Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, Charles Gordone's No Place to Be Somebody, and Papp's production of Michael Bennett's Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A Chorus Line. Papp also helped to develop other off-Broadway theatres and worked to preserve the historic Broadway Theatre District.
