Photo Coverage: The Public Theater Celebrates 50 Years at the Delacorte & Honors Al Pacino

Last night, June 18, The Public Theater celebrated the 50th Anniversary of the Delacorte Theater, home of Shakespeare in the Park, and honored Al Pacino for his body of work at The Public. The evening included a benefit reading of Romeo and Julie featuring Kevin Kline as Romeo and Meryl Streep as Juliet. CLICK HERE for BroadwayWorld's coverage of the benefit performance!

 

On hand to celebrate were the likes of Julia Stiles, Chelsea Clinton, Steve Martin and many more who have both particiated and enjoyed the works at the Delacorte. BroadwayWorld was also on hand and brings you photo coverage below!

 

Conceived by Public Theater founder Joe Papp as a way to make great theater accessible to all, over the past five decades more than five million people have enjoyed over 150 productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals at the Delacorte Theater, which officially opened on June 18, 1962. This year, the Shakespeare in the Park season presents As You Like It and Into The Woods.  

 

For more information on the Park season and how to see the shows, visit www.shakespeareinthepark.org.

Al Pacino recently appeared in the critically acclaimed 2010 Shakespeare in the Park production of The Merchant of Venice, directed by Daniel Sullivan, which transferred to Broadway and earned him a Tony Award nomination. His other Public Theater credits include Marcus Antoinus in Julius Caesar in 1988. He has also appeared on Broadway in Salome; Hughie, which he appeared in and directed; Chinese Coffee; American Buffalo; Richard III; The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, and Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie? both earning him a Tony Award; and Camino Real. His additional Off-Broadway credits include The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui; The Indian wants the Bronx, earning him an Obie and Theatre World Award; The Connection; Tiger at the Gates; The Local Stigmatic; Hello; Out There; and Orphans. Pacino is an Academy Award and two-time Emmy winner who has appeared in more than 35 films. He also received the NEA National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama earlier this year.

The only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare and the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure, The Public continues the work of its visionary founder, Joe Papp, by acting as an advocate for the theater as an essential cultural force, and leading and framing dialogue on some of the most important issues of our day. Creating theater for one of the largest and most diverse audience bases in New York City for nearly 60 years, today the Company engages audiences in a variety of venues—including its landmark downtown home, which houses five theaters and Joe’s Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to the beloved, free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Shakespeare Unit, which tours Shakespearean productions for underserved audiences throughout New York City’s five boroughs. The Public’s wide range of programming includes free Shakespeare in the Park, the bedrock of the Company’s dedication to making theater accessible to all, new and experimental stagings at its downtown home, and a range of artist and audience development initiatives including its Public Forum series, which brings together theater artists and professionals from a variety of disciplines for discussions that shed light on social issues explored in Public productions. The Public Theater receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. For more, visit www.publictheater.org

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski

Gloria Reuben

Stephen Spinella

Bob Balaban

Kathleen Turner, Evan Jonigkeit

Evan Jonigkeit

Suzan-Lori Parks

Alexandra Shiva, Jonathan Marc Sherman

Keith Lieberthal, Julianna Margulies

Julianna Margulies

Steve Martin

Crystal A. Dickinson

Lily Rabe

Hettienne Park

Renee Elise Goldsberry

Mike Nichols

Al Pacino

Al Pacino

Chelsea Clinton

Chelsea Clinton

Michael Greif, Jonathan Fried

Laura Linney

Ali Velshi, Lori Wachs

Christopher Walken

Sharon Washington

Sandra Oh

Sharon Washington, Sandra Oh

Julie White

Julia Stiles

Julia Stiles

Christine Quinn

Jerry Stiller

Mai-Linh Lofgren, Michael Stuhlbarg

Alan Alda

Diane Sawyer

Diane Sawyer

Malgosia Tomassi, Stacy Keach

Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke

Raul Esparza

Ruben Santiago-Hudson

David Furr

F. Murray Abraham

F. Murray Abraham

Mike Doyle

Bobby Cannavale

Cynthia Nixon

Oskar Eustis

Gabriel Kahane

Oskar Eustis, Patrick Willingham, Warren Spector

David Henry Hwang