{"id":333974,"date":"2026-08-31T17:24:12","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T17:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/333974\/"},"modified":"2026-08-31T17:24:12","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T17:24:12","slug":"free-limited-engagement-of-public-works-public-record-runs-at-the-delacorte-theater-september-4-8","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/333974\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Limited Engagement of Public Works\u2019 Public Record Runs at the Delacorte Theater September 4\u20138"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\"TheNew York, N.Y. (August 31, 2026) \u2013 The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) begins free performances of\u00a0Public Works\u2019 PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park on Friday, September 4 for a limited engagement running through Tuesday, September 8. Featuring a cast of more than 130,\u00a0PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0brings New Yorkers from all five boroughs together through music, dance, and storytelling. A new original production by Public Works,\u00a0PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0is based on a concept by\u00a0Emily Lim\u00a0and\u00a0Dan Canham, written by\u00a0Lisa Sanaye Dring, with original orchestrations and music supervision by\u00a0Michael Thurber, direction by\u00a0Emily Lim, and co-direction and choreography by\u00a0Dan Canham.\u00a0This marks Public Works\u2019 first production at The Delacorte since 2023, and the final offering of 2026\u2019s\u00a0Shakespeare for the City\u00a0presented by\u00a0Citizens.<\/p>\n


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New Yorkers from all five boroughs are coming together to create a live album\u2014on stage, in real time.\u00a0PUBLIC RECORD, based on a concept by\u00a0Dan Canham\u00a0and\u00a0Emily Lim, brings Public Works community members, musicians, and dancers into a cast of over 100 to capture how our city sings, moves, and tells its story in this moment. Written by\u00a0Lisa Sanaye Dring, with music supervision by\u00a0Michael Thurber, direction by\u00a0Emily Lim, and co-direction and choreography by\u00a0Dan Canham, this electrifying new production stands as an act of collective hope, joy, and resistance.<\/p>\n


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The album will be preserved by the\u00a0New York Public Library for the Performing Arts\u00a0forever, ensuring that long after summer fades, it will remain a powerful reminder that the true record of a city isn\u2019t just its headlines\u2014it\u2019s the sound of neighbors standing side by side.\u00a0<\/p>\n


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Director\u00a0Emily Lim\u00a0and co-director and choreographer\u00a0Dan Canham\u00a0said, \u201cWe are so excited to bring\u00a0Public Record\u00a0to life in New York with the inspirational Public Works community. We have assembled an incredible company of New Yorkers from across all five boroughs to create with us and can’t wait to start rehearsals, bringing together their stories, songs, and dances to create a true celebration of what it means to live alongside one another in community at this moment in time, in this extraordinary city.\u201d<\/p>\n


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In addition to\u00a0100 Public Works community members\u00a0from all five boroughs, the cast of\u00a0PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0includes dancers\u00a0Amanda Castro,\u00a0Niall Jones,\u00a0Lysis,\u00a0Raechelle Manalo,\u00a0Alora Tonielle Martinez,\u00a0Niki Saludez, and\u00a0William Roberson;\u00a0musicians and singers\u00a0Louis Cato,\u00a0Maya Margarita,\u00a0Arturo O\u2019Farrill,\u00a0Arun Ramamurthy, and\u00a0Mireya Ramos;\u00a0DJ\u00a0Papi Juice; and cameos from\u00a0P.U.S.H.\u00a0Dance Company,\u00a0NYC Health + Hospitals\/Elmhurst, and the staff of the\u00a0New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.<\/p>\n


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Public Works\u2019\u00a0PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0features scenic design by\u00a0Arthur Wilson,\u00a0costume design by\u00a0Rodrigo Mu\u00f1oz, lighting design by\u00a0Victoria Bain, sound design by\u00a0Taylor J. Williams, orchestrations and music direction by\u00a0Michael Thurber, and music contracting by\u00a0David Lai.\u00a0Narda E. Alcorn\u00a0is the production stage manager and\u00a0Benjamin E. C. Pfister\u00a0and\u00a0Kate Wellhofer\u00a0are the stage managers.<\/p>\n


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Public Works\u00a0seeks to unite our city through the creation of ambitious, participatory theater. By forging collaborations that reach far beyond the traditional boundaries of the American theater\u2014bringing together community organizations, civic institutions, and New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds with experienced artists\u2014Public Works creates extraordinary works of art that remind us that humanity is at its best when the boundaries that divide us give way to the shared act of making something together. Created in 2012, Public Works builds and maintains an intergenerational and multicultural community from all five boroughs. Working deeply with 9 partner organizations and our members through year-round arts programming\u2014including classes, potlucks, attending performances, and our summer production\u2014Public Works activates cultural institutions\u2019 potential to become spaces where people find belonging, combat isolation, and are nurtured as artists.<\/p>\n


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The nine community partners are:\u00a0Brownsville Recreation Center,\u00a0Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education,\u00a0Center for Family Life in Sunset Park,\u00a0Children\u2019s Aid,\u00a0DreamYard,\u00a0Domestic Workers United,\u00a0The Fortune Society,\u00a0Hunts Point Alliance for Children, and\u00a0Military Resilience Foundation.<\/p>\n


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Public Works\u2019\u00a0PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0closes 2026\u2019s\u00a0SHAKESPEARE FOR THE CITY,\u00a0The Public\u2019s annual summer celebration of free programming bringing world-class theater to audiences through New York City. The Free Shakespeare in the Park production of\u00a0ROMEO & JULIET\u00a0kicked off the summer, followed by Mobile Unit\u2019s free touring production of\u00a0AS YOU LIKE IT. Free Shakespeare in the Park continues with\u00a0THE WINTER\u2019S TALE\u00a0before Public Works returns to The Delacorte over Labor Day weekend. Every performance and event is completely free and open to all!\u00a0Join us in celebrating the joy, power, and human connection of live theater all summer long. Presenting partner\u00a0Citizens\u00a0joins lead sponsor, the\u00a0Jerome L. Greene Foundation, in support of Free Shakespeare in the Park.<\/p>\n


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BIOS<\/p>\n


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LISA SANAYE DRING\u00a0(Playwright) Dring\u2019s play\u00a0SUMO\u00a0was produced by Ma-Yi, The Public, and La Jolla Playhouse. It was nominated for a 2025 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Play and a 2023 San Diego Critics Award for Best New Play.\u00a0Her play\u00a0Kairos\u00a0had a Rolling World Premiere with National New Play Network and was nominated for a 2025 Jeff Award for New Work.\u00a0She has worked with Meow Wolf, was a member of The Geffen Writers’ Room and was honored as a recipient of the 2020\/21 PLAY LA Stage Raw\/Humanitas Prize. Her work has also been produced by Contemporary American Theatre Festival, Actors Theatre of Louisville, East West Players, Circle X, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Theatre NOVA, Rogue Artists, Red Theater, Theatre of NOTE and Skylight Theatre. They have been awarded fellowships at MacDowell (2x), Blue Mountain Center and Yaddo.\u00a0Dring received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Interactive Programming for a piece she co-wrote and co-directed with Matt Hill called\u00a0Welcome to the Blumhouse Live and was a 2025 recipient of the Helen Merrill Award.<\/p>\n


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MICHAEL THURBER\u00a0(Music Supervision, Orchestrations, Music Director) is a Tony-nominated, Drama Desk\/Outer Critics Circle-winning composer and lyricist.\u00a0Broadway:\u00a0Just in Time. Off-Broadway:\u00a0Twelfth Night, Merry Wives, Romeo & Juliet\u00a0(Shakespeare in the Park);\u00a0Goddess\u00a0(The Public Theater). As a bassist, Thurber was an original\u00a0member of the house band on \u201cThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert.\u201d He studied music at Juilliard and the Interlochen Arts Academy.<\/p>\n


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DAN CANHAM\u00a0(Co-Direction and Choreography) is an award-winning choreographer, theater maker, and filmmaker with over 20 years in the industry. Having performed for 10 years with some of the UK and Ireland\u2019s most celebrated theater and dance companies including Punchdrunk, Kneehigh, and DV8, in 2011 he created his own company Still House. Still House productions include\u00a0SESSION,\u00a0Of Riders & Running Horses,\u00a0and\u00a030 Cecil Street, with touring including Australia, China, Canada, and throughout Europe. Key projects as co-director and choreographer include\u00a0Brighter Still\u00a0(closing event for Bradford City of Culture 2025) and\u00a0Public Record\u00a0(National Theatre\u2019s Public Acts). Movement director credits include\u00a0The Odyssey: The Underworld\u00a0(National Theatre\u2019s Public Acts),\u00a0Jane Eyre\u00a0(National Theatre\/Bristol Old Vic),\u00a0A Monster Calls\u00a0(Old Vic\/Bristol Old Vic), and\u00a0Peter Pan\u00a0(National Theatre). As a filmmaker, his work has featured in festivals all over the world. Canham\u2019s work is rooted in collective joy, heart, courage and humanity.\u00a0dancanham.com<\/a><\/p>\n


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EMILY LIM\u00a0(Director) is an award-winning director whose work explores theater as a form of community building and social activism. She works in settings ranging from grassroots community centers to major theatres and international festivals. From 2017 – 2025 she was an Associate Artist of the National Theatre where she led the critically acclaimed programme Public Acts, directing productions featuring hundreds of community members and professional performers from across the country, including\u00a0Public Record\u00a0(The Fire Station, Sunderland),\u00a0The Odyssey: The Underworld\u00a0and\u00a0Pericles\u00a0(both in The Olivier Theatre, National Theatre). Other directing credits include:\u00a0A Midsummer Night\u2019s Dream\u00a0(Shakespeare\u2019s Globe);\u00a0Brighter Still\u00a0(closing ceremony for UK City of Culture 2025);\u00a0The Enormous Crocodile\u00a0(Roald Dahl Story Company, Regents Park Open Air Theatre, upcoming USA \/ UK tours); the internationally acclaimed\u00a0Brainstorm\u00a0(as Co-Director, Company Three); Yoko Ono\u2019s\u00a0Bells for Peace\u00a0(Manchester International Festival) and Jeremy Deller\u2019s\u00a0We\u2019re Here Because We\u2019re Here\u00a0(1418 Now). She is regularly invited to share her practice with organizations in the UK and abroad as a mentor, educator, speaker, and consultant, exploring the transformative impact of theater and cultural activism within communities.<\/p>\n


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ABOUT CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.<\/p>\n


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Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation\u2019s oldest and largest financial institutions, with $227.9 billion in assets as of March 31, 2026. Headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, Citizens offers a broad range of retail, private banking, wealth management and commercial banking products and services to individuals, small businesses, middle-market companies, large corporations and institutions. Citizens helps its customers reach their potential by listening to them and by understanding their needs in order to offer tailored advice, ideas and solutions. In Consumer Banking, Citizens provides an integrated experience that includes mobile and online banking, a full-service customer contact center and the convenience of approximately 3,000 ATMs and approximately 1,000 branches in 14 states and the District of Columbia. Consumer Banking products and services include a full range of banking, lending, savings, wealth management and small business offerings. Consumer Banking includes Citizens Private Bank and Private Wealth, which integrate banking services and wealth management solutions to serve high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and families, as well as investors, entrepreneurs and businesses. In Commercial Banking, Citizens offers a broad complement of financial products and solutions, including lending and leasing, deposit and treasury management services, foreign exchange, interest rate and commodity risk management solutions, as well as loan syndication, corporate finance, merger and acquisition, and debt and equity capital markets capabilities. More information is available at\u00a0www.citizensbank.com<\/a>\u00a0or visit us on\u00a0X<\/a>,\u00a0LinkedIn<\/a>,\u00a0or\u00a0Facebook<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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THE PUBLIC\u00a0continues 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\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s five boroughs, Public Works, and Joe\u2019s Pub. Since premiering\u00a0HAIR\u00a0in 1967, The Public continues to create the canon of American Theater and is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning musical\u00a0Hamilton\u00a0by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Their programs and productions can also be seen regionally across the country and around the world. The Public has received 64 Tony Awards, 197 Obie Awards, 63 Drama Desk Awards, 66 Lortel Awards, 36 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics\u2019 Circle Awards, 72 AUDELCO Awards, 6 Antonyo Awards, and 6 Pulitzer Prizes.\u00a0publictheater.org<\/a><\/p>\n


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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\u2014the 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.<\/p>\n


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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\u2019s legacy.<\/p>\n


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PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0was originally commissioned and produced by the National Theatre, Sunderland Culture, and Sunderland Empire, and created with the people of Sunderland, as part of the National Theatre’s Public Acts programme.\u00a0<\/p>\n


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Citizens\u00a0is the presenting partner of\u00a0SHAKESPEARE FOR THE CITY.<\/p>\n


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Leadership support for\u00a0Public Works\u00a0is provided by the\u00a0Abrams Foundation, the Endeavor Foundation,\u00a0and the\u00a0Eisner Foundation.<\/p>\n


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Generous support for\u00a0Public Works\u00a0is provided by\u00a0Jody & John Arnhold, the One World Fund, Select Equity Group, The SHS Foundation, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Susan & David Viniar, the Whiting Foundation,\u00a0and\u00a0Felice Zwas & Sarah Gallen.<\/p>\n


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Special thanks to the\u00a0Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation,\u00a0and\u00a0the Venable Foundation.<\/p>\n


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This project is supported in part by the\u00a0National Endowment for the Arts.<\/p>\n


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FREE TICKET INFORMATION<\/p>\n


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Public Works\u2019\u00a0PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0will run at The Delacorte Theater for five free performances, Friday, September 4 through Tuesday, September 8. All performances are at 8:00 p.m.<\/p>\n


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Tickets to\u00a0PUBLIC RECORD\u00a0will be distributed in a number of ways. Free tickets may be acquired on the day of the performance in person at The Delacorte Theater,\u00a0via an in-person lottery in the lobby of The Public Theater at\u00a0425 Lafayette Street<\/a>, or through a digital lottery via the TodayTix mobile app. All tickets are subject to availability.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n


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A limited number of tickets are also available via advance reservation by making a contribution in support of Free Shakespeare in the Park and Public Works. To learn more, or to make a contribution, call\u00a0212.967.7555<\/a>, or visit\u00a0publictheater.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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The full performance calendar and complete distribution details can be found at\u00a0publictheater.org<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n


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The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is accessible by entering at 81st Street and Central Park West or at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.<\/p>\n


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CONNECT WITH US<\/p>\n


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Facebook.com\/<\/a>PublicTheater<\/a><\/p>\n


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Instagram\u00a0|\u00a0<\/a>@PublicTheaterNY<\/a><\/p>\n


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Threads\u00a0|\u00a0@PublicTheaterNY<\/a><\/p>\n


\n <\/p>\n

TikTok\u00a0|\u00a0@PublicTheaterNY<\/a><\/p>\n


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###<\/p>\n


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