The Public & International Rescue Committee to Host WELCOME HOME: A CELEBRATION OF WORLD REFUGEE DAY

The Public Theater and International Rescue Committee announced today that a special free one-night-only Public Forum event, WELCOME HOME: A CELEBRATION OF WORLD REFUGEE DAY, will take place on Monday, June 20 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park. Free Public Forum tickets will be distributed, two per person (age 5+), at the Delacorte Theater beginning at 12:00 p.m. on the day of the Forum.

As of 2015, over 60 million people across the planet are currently displaced from their homes - more than at any time previously in history. To draw attention to the crisis and to confirm New York City's place as America's open arms to those fleeing their homes for a better life, The Public Theater and International Rescue Committee will come together at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park to commemorate World Refugee Day.

"America is a nation created by refugees; and at our best we have welcomed immigrants from across the globe, many fleeing persecution and oppression in their homelands," said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "The pilgrims were refugees at Plymouth Rock, and The Public and IRC are proud to celebrate the best of American traditions, the welcome embodied by that lady in New York harbor."

Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. and at that time a naturalization ceremony for brand new citizens will take place for the first time ever on the Delacorte stage, led by U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson. The Forum program will begin at 7:30 p.m. and highlights of the evening will include F. Murray Abraham reading Shakespeare's incendiary plea for refugees from Sir Thomas More, a performance of a song by K'naan, Michael Cerveris performing "Better Angels" from Tom Kitt's new musical The Visitor, Hoon Lee reading David Henry Hwang, a chorus of New York City schoolchildren reading Emma Lazarus' "The New Colossus," Kwame Kwei-Armah reading John Winthrop's "A Model of Christian Charity," Natalie Cortez performing "There Is a Child" from The Public's Giant, and more.

"As we prepare to celebrate World Refugee Day in just under a month, it is important to remember the myriad gifts refugees have brought to this country and the world," said International Rescue Committee President and CEO David Miliband. "The IRC is proud to partner with The Public on this amazing night that will showcase the talent of longstanding refugees now at the top of their professions and welcome home new ones who may just become the next big thing."

Free Public Forum tickets will be distributed, two per person (age 5+), at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park beginning at 12:00 p.m. on the day of the Forum. For more ticket information please visit www.publictheater.org. The Public continues its partnership with TodayTix, who will now be offering the exclusive Mobile Ticket Lottery for Free Shakespeare in the Park, replacing the virtual lottery from previous years. Public Forum tickets will be distributed by random mobile lottery on the TodayTix app on Monday, June 20. The Public's Delacorte Theater is accessible by entering at 81st Street and Central Park West, or 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.

Public Forum WELCOME HOME: A CELEBRATION OF WORLD REFUGEE DAY is made possible by a grant from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

PUBLIC FORUM, now in its sixth season, brings together talented members of the theater community and interesting individuals from the arts, media, politics, and society to discuss, debate, and further explore the ideas present on The Public Theater's stages. Alec Baldwin, Anne Hathaway, Cynthia Nixon, Sam Waterston, Jeremy McCarter, and former NEA Chair Rocco Landesman have hosted its programs, which have featured insights and performances from the likes of Uzo Aduba, Christine Baranski, David Brooks, David Byrne, Jessica Chastain, Matt Damon, E.L. Doctorow, James Earl Jones, Tony Kushner, Wynton Marsalis, Darryl "D.M.C." McDaniels, Audra McDonald, Stephin Merritt, Suzan-Lori Parks, Salman Rushdie, David Simon, Anna Deavere Smith, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson, and many more. Through curated conversations and surprising combinations, Public Forum seeks to engage audiences in discovering answers to the questions that drive us, both onstage and off.