Listen: Saheem Ali, Ato Blankson-Wood, Michael Stuhlbarg & More Take Part in Public Square 2.0 Podcast

The Public Theater (Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director and Patrick Willingham, Executive Director) announced the complete second season of its podcast, PUBLIC SQUARE 2.0, is available now for free on The Public Theater’s website and wherever podcasts are available. Executive produced and hosted by Garlia Cornelia Jones, The Public Theater’s Director of Innovation & New Media, the second season features 16 episodes, giving listeners a deep dive into Public Theater Productions, the artistic process, and more.

Produced in partnership with Detroit-based GhostLight Creative Productions (John Sloan III, Creative Producer, Video Editor, Co-Script Writer; Justin K. Sloan, Audio Producer), PUBLIC SQUARE 2.0 features engaging conversations, video interviews, and performances from myriad Public Theater artists and staff as well as industry leaders, including Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis; Public Theater Writer-in-Residence Suzan-Lori Parks on her writing process, creating new works, and The Public as her artistic home; Public Theater Associate Artistic Director and Resident Director Saheem Ali, Ato Blankson-Wood, Michael Stuhlbarg, and Sam Waterston in conversation with Shakespeare Scholar Ayanna Thompson on the enduring relevance of Hamlet; a behind-the-scenes look at the creative process for The Public’s Mobile Unit production of THE COMEDY OF ERRORS; Joi Gresham, Robert O’Hara, Dr. Imani Perri, and Dr. Eddie Glaude on the legacy of Lorraine Hansberry; and more. 

“My work has always been about connecting people, supporting their work, and allowing them to tell their stories. Because of that, the re-launch of The Public Theater’s podcast was a dream come true for many reasons,” said Detroit-native, Garlia Cornelia Jones, The Public Theater’s Director of Innovation & New Media. “When my new role was created, I spent time talking to the staff about their thoughts and ideas—their dreams for this work of ‘Innovation and New Media’ at The Public. A podcast felt like the ideal place to start as it enabled us to give our current and new audiences and community the ability to connect with us and our work outside of our productions.”

Continued Jones, “I could not have imagined that a little over a year later, we would have spoken to Tony Award winners and nominees, among so many others. I’m so grateful to have partnered with collaborators such as GhostLight Creative Productions, a Black-owned business, in this space alongside us as we all created and learned together. As a Black woman with a stutter, connecting people to this legacy institution by sharing conversations with colleagues, artists, and thought leaders is an incredible way forward for me and I hope what we have created feels impactful for others in many ways.”

The Public Theater continues the work of its visionary founder Joe Papp as a civic institution engaging, both on-stage and off, with some of the most important ideas and social issues of today. Conceived over 60 years ago as one of the nation’s first nonprofit theaters, The Public has long operated on the principles that theater is an essential cultural force and that art and culture belong to everyone. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, The Public’s wide breadth of programming includes an annual season of new work at its landmark home at Astor Place, Free Shakespeare in the Park at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park, the Mobile Unit touring throughout New York City’s five boroughs, Public Forum, Under the Radar, Public Lab, Public Works, Public Shakespeare Initiative, and Joe’s Pub. Since premiering HAIR in 1967, The Public continues to create the canon of American Theater and is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the Pulitzer Prize-winning play Fat Ham by James Ijames. Their programs and productions can also be seen regionally across the country and around the world. The Public has received 60 Tony Awards, 190 Obie Awards, 57 Drama Desk Awards, 61 Lortel Awards, 36 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics’ Circle Awards, 62 AUDELCO Awards, 6 Antonyo Awards, and 6 Pulitzer Prizes. publictheater.org

The Public Theater stands in honor of the first inhabitants and our ancestors. We acknowledge the land on which The Public and its theaters stand—the original homeland of the Lenape people. We acknowledge the painful history of genocide and forced removal from this territory. We honor the generations of stewards and we pay our respects to the many diverse indigenous peoples still connected to this land.

The Public also gives our respect to the people of Seneca Village, a community of Black property owners who were removed from their land and whose village was destroyed in the creation of Central Park. We recognize the sacrifice that these ancestors made and honor Seneca Village’s legacy.

The LuEsther T. Mertz Legacy Trust provides leadership support for The Public Theater's year-round activities.