New Globe Theater Calling on Community to Oppose National Park Service Plan

The National Park Service has released its Draft General Management Plan for Governors Island - and despite overwhelming public support for the inclusion of the New Globe Theater proposal in the national monument, the NPS alternatives unveiled do not include this project.

Off the tip of Manhattan, on Governors Island, sits a dilapidated military fort, built to defend America against the British during the War of 1812. That fortification – Castle Williams – happens to have the identical blueprint as Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London. The New Globe Theater (www.newglobe.org) proposes to re-imagine the fort into the vibrant education and cultural center, thus recasting this symbol of war into an icon of UK-US friendship.

The design by Lord Norman Foster restores this decaying national monument to its 1811 glory, creates a museum space, and incorporates an exciting stage for world-class productions of Shakespeare as well as works by modern playwrights, jazz performances, lectures and a wide range of other events.

The New Globe's Artistic Board includes Philip Seymour Hoffman, Kevin Kline, Kenny Leon, Sam Mendes, Al Pacino, Estelle Parsons, and Mark Rylance, with a long list of artistic supporters from Judi Dench, Robin Williams, Kate Winslet, Ian McKellen, Ralph Fiennes, Woody Allen, David Bowie, Christopher Plummer, Tom Stoppard, Mike Nichols, Harold Prince, Toni Morrison, Julianne Moore (for a complete listing, see www.newglobe.org)  The New Globe proposal has received the additional backing of hundreds of individuals and organizations, ranging from the Municipal Art Society to Community Board #1.

The New York congressional delegation – including both New York Senators Schumer and Clinton, Congressman Nadler (whose district includes Governors Island), Congressman Rangel as Dean of the New York delegation, and an additional 12 members of Congress - has already urged the National Park Service to approve the New Globe proposal. 

Backers of the proposal are now counting on the general public, calling on anyone interested to email the National Park Service through their site and voice their support for transforming an old military fort into a cultural institution (www.newglobe.org).

The public comment period lasts until March 18, 2008.