The Public Theater to Host Memorial for L.A. Artistic Director Gordon Davidson

A private memorial service for Gordon Davidson, a longtime friend of The Public Theater and former Artistic Director of the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles for 38 years, will be held at The Public on Sunday, February 12. The Public Theater will also dim the lights on Sunday at approximately 6:00 p.m. in honor of Davidson and his enormous contributions to the American Theater.

"Gordon Davidson was a lion of the theater, carving out a place in Los Angeles for one of the most exciting theaters in the world," said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. "He was incredibly generous, unbelievably hardworking, and very, very gifted. He was also my mentor and my friend. I miss him more than I can say."

From 1967 to 2005, Gordon Davidson was the Artistic Director of the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum at The Music Center. Davidson was also the Producing Director of the Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre for 15 years, and the Artistic Director of the inaugural season (2004-2005) at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. In addition to redefining theater in Southern California, he was one of the founders of the regional theatre movement and had a permanent impact on theater throughout the country and the world. Davidson guided hundreds of productions to the Taper stage while overseeing numerous special projects sponsored by the Taper. This work, and his direction of many plays staged at the Taper, was acclaimed both in Los Angeles and New York, garnering the Taper a Tony Award for theatrical excellence in 1977. Davidson was born on May 7, 1933, and passed away Sunday, October 2, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Judi; their children, Adam and Rachel; and five granddaughters.

Center Theatre Group one of the nation's preeminent arts and cultural organizations, is Los Angeles' leading nonprofit theater company, programming seasons at the 736-seat Mark Taper Forum, the 1600 to 2000-seat Ahmanson Theatre at The Music Center in Downtown Los Angeles, and the 317-seat Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. In addition to presenting and producing the broadest range of theatrical entertainment in the country, Center Theatre Group is one of the nation's leading producers of ambitious new works through commissions and world premiere productions and a leader in interactive community engagement and education programs that reach across generations, demographics, and circumstance to serve Los Angeles.

The Public Theater, under the leadership of Artistic Director Oskar Eustis and Executive Director Patrick Willingham, is the only theater in New York that produces Shakespeare, the classics, musicals, contemporary and experimental pieces in equal measure. In over 10 years at The Public, Eustis has created new community-based initiatives designed to engage audiences like Public Lab, Public Studio, Public Forum, Public Works, and a remount of the Mobile Unit. 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 free Shakespeare in the Park; and the Mobile 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; Public Works, an expanding initiative that is designed to cultivate new connections and new models of engagement with artists, audiences and the community each year; and audience and artist development initiatives that range from Emerging Writers Group and to the Public Forum series. The Public's work is also seen on tour throughout the U.S. and internationally and in collaborations and co-productions with regional and international theaters. The Public 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. The Public is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning acclaimed American musical Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda and in spring 2017, Lynn Nottage's acclaimed new play Sweat. The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 168 Obie Awards, 53 Drama Desk Awards, 54 Lortel Awards, 32 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics Awards, and five Pulitzer Prizes. Visit www.publictheater.org.

Photo Credit: Craig Schwartz

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