Arielle Tepper Madover Elected Board Chair of Public Theater

The Board of Trustees of The Public Theater just announced that Arielle Tepper Madover has been elected as The Public's new Board Chair. Madover, who joined the board in 2009, has been an active member of the Executive Committee, serving as Board Vice-Chair for the last year and Chair of The Public's Commercial Projects Committee since 2011. She was Co-Chair of The Public's 2013 Gala and the 50thAnniversary Gala in 2012, achieving the highest grossing galas in Public Theater history. A Tony Award-winning producer, Madover will serve a three year term effective immediately.

Madover succeeds Warren Spector who served as Board Chair since 2005 and will remain on the Board's Executive Committee. During Spector's eight-year tenure, The Public Theater experienced significant institutional transformation and tremendous artistic success. Spector was instrumental in developing the Board of Trustees and in leading a $42 million revitalization of the historic Astor Place Library building that modernized its public spaces and created a new restaurant called The Library. He supported The Public's launch of ambitious new programs, including Public Lab, a series of developmental productions designed to respond to new work immediately; Public Works, a community-based-theater initiative; and Public Forum, a series of talks, lectures, conversations and debates that connect the work onstage with the issues facing society at large. Also, during this period, The Public increased the number of annual productions and doubled its operating budget to $28 million. The Whitton-Spector Library at The Public honors a generous gift from Spector and his wife Margaret Whitton that marked the first Board leadership commitment of the successful Going Public capital campaign.

"It has been an honor and a pleasure to serve this great New York institution and to witness the extraordinary accomplishments over the past eight years," said Warren Spector. "Arielle will head a dynamic and committed Board who have worked to ensure that The Public is prepared for future challenges and to pursue its unique and vital mission. She has been an invaluable voice on the Executive Committee and I know she is the perfect leader to support Oskar, Patrick, and The Public Theater staff as they continue to shape the American theater as well the cultural and civic life of New York City."

"As a New York City native, I was so fortunate to experience first-hand the work and influence of The Public Theater," said Arielle Tepper Madover. "Not only is The Public an essential part of life in New York, it has served as a role model and leader for cultural institutions in the U.S. and indeed the world. I am very excited to work with the rest of the Board, Oskar Eustis, Patrick Willingham, and the staff of The Public Theater as they continue to remain true to the theater's ongoing mission of making theater accessible to all."

The Public Theater Board of Trustees includes Chairman Arielle Tepper Madover; Vice Chair Pat Fili-Krushel; Treasurer Jim Steinberg; Secretary Gail Merrifield Papp; and Trustees Renée Beaumont; Andrea E. Bernstein; Zach Buchwald; Mary Schmidt Campbell; Anne Clarke Wolff, Gordon J. Davis, Esq.; Eric Ellenbogen; Oskar Eustis; Stephen L. Feinberg; Hilary C. Feshbach; Candia Fisher; Faith E. Gay; Anne Hathaway; Kevin Kline; Debby Landesman; Barbara Manocherian; Charlotte Relyea, Jed Root; Wendi Rose; Lizanne Rosenstein; Mark Rosenthal; Liev Schreiber; Alexandra Shiva; Andrew Shiva; Tom Slaughter; Warren Spector; Steven C. Taub; Grace Lyu Volckhausen; Robin Wagner; Sam Waterston; Audrey Wilf; Frances Wilkinson; and Patrick Willingham.

"We are so pleased that Arielle Tepper Madover will be The Public's new Board Chair. She is an extraordinary leader with a strong commitment to The Public and the entire theater community," said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham. "She is an innovative thinker who will support the long-term sustainability of The Public and help us continue to grow and serve our audiences and community. We can't thank Warren Spector enough for his vision and guidance these past eight years and we are so happy he will continue to serve on the Board Executive Committee."

Arielle Tepper Madover has served on The Public Theater Board for the last four years. She is a Tony Award-winning Producer who has produced theater on and off-Broadway and in London. Madover's credits include: Broadway: Lucky Guy by Nora Ephron starring Tom Hanks; I'll Eat You Last starring Bette Midler; Annie; Red; HAIR; Hamlet; Mary Stuart; Equus; Frost/Nixon; Monty Python's Spamalot; The Pillowman; Democracy; A Raisin in the Sun; Tom Stoppard's Jumpers; Hollywood Arms; A Class Act; James Joyce's The Dead; John Leguizamo's Freak; and Sandra Bernhard's I'm Still Here...Damn It. Her West End credits include: Piaf; Monty Python's Spamalot; Frost/Nixon; Guys & Dolls; Mary Stuart; A Voyage Round My Father; Sunday in the Park with George. She also produced Bounce by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman directed by Harold Prince at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Her off-Broadway credits include De La Guarda " Villa Villa"; The Last Five Years; Goodnight Children Everywhere; the US National Tour of Frost/Nixon and the US National tour and Vegas productions of Monty Python's Spamalot. Madover founded the Summer Play Festival and the Tepper Center for Careers in Theatre. She is an Emeritus member of the Syracuse University Board and on the Board of Governors of The Broadway League. She is a member of the Juilliard Drama Council and was one of Cosmopolitan's Fun Fearless Females.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public Theater is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, and contemporary and experimental works 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 at Astor Place, which houses five theaters and Joe's Pub; the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, home to its beloved, free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile Unit, which tours Shakespearean and other classic 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 The Public at Astor Place, 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 is located on property owned by the City of New York and receives annual support from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; and in October 2012 the landmark building downtown at Astor Place was revitalized to physically manifest the Company's core mission of sparking new dialogues and increasing accessibility for artists and audiences, by dramatically opening up the building to the street and community, and transforming the lobby into a public piazza for artists, students, and audiences. Key elements of the revitalization included infrastructure updates to the 158-year old building, including changes to the main entry, expanded lobby, additional restrooms, and the addition of a new lounge, The Library at The Public, designed by the Rockwell Group. The LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust provides leadership support for The Public Theater's year-round activities.