Arguendo 2013

Last year, The Public Theater co-produced, to great acclaim, GATZ (a unique word-for-word staging of The Great Gatsby) created and performed by Elevator Repair Service (ERS), one of America's most acclaimed theater ensembles. This season, The Public reunites with ERS for a co-production of ARGUENDO, a playful riff on the 1991 Supreme Court case Barnes v. Glen Theatre. In this provocative case, a group of exotic dancers, citing the First Amendment, challenged a ban on public nudity. ERS stages the oral argument of the case verbatim with their signature theatricality, wit and physical precision. The production design features a breathtaking swirl of animated text projections by celebrated visual artist, Ben Rubin.

ARGUENDO is designed to be a thought-provoking piece of theater, and performances will often be followed by talkbacks with ERS Artistic Director John Collins, constitutional law scholars, and journalists who write about the court. These talkbacks will not only give audiences a chance to learn more about the history of the case but also give them a chance to participate in the discussion that the Court has begun.