​... put Public Theater on the short list of New York's Off-Broadway theaters making cultural history every day.

Heard of the Broadway musical Hamilton?Hair? A Chorus Line? Or have you possibly queued up for Shakespeare in the Park?

If yes, you already know of New York City's Public Theater and its founder Joseph Papp, even though you might not know you knew the name before.You can read on the Public Theater's website and learn how it was one of the first non-profit theaters in the USA and the mile upon mile of awards it has earned since its founding in 1967. Of note also was the Public's ever-so-timely embrace of a script called The Normal Heart, a tearjerker that made the tragedy of the AIDS epidemic tangible.Such timely productions that zero in on America's most tender spots is central to Public Theater's stock in trade.

They've done it again.

New York's Public Theater is now staging The Ally, a new play by Itamar Moses that does a deep dive into the intersection of American anti-racism efforts and the Palestinian cause. It is the story of a part-time professor taking on the role of academic advisor for a progressive Jewish organization on campus only to be repelled by what he sees as a conflation of anti-zionism and anti-semitism.The battle-of-ideas script bores deep into the intersectionality of anti-racist struggles and the pro-Palestinian cause, academic freedom and other hot-as-the-sun button issues in the USA at this time.Consider that when you join the New York audience to watch this play you are in the US city with both the highest population of American Jews AND the highest population of Palestinian-Americans.You sense it by the finger snaps, claps and murmurings around you as the story unfolds on the stage.

Sure, taking in a Broadway show is a top draw for a NYC tourist.Public Theater's founder Joseph Papp who spearheaded efforts to keep Broadway alive and thriving in the late 20th Century would have it no other way.But, if you like to get more granular with the culture of where you visit, consider cutting edge small theaters too, and put Public Theater on the short list of New York's Off-Broadway theaters making cultural history every day.

And in a later production called GOOD BONES, Public Theater takes on issues of gentrification.  Picking plays like this that speak to the issues of our time is a Public Theater trademark. 

Useful links

​Read —

Public Theater Presents GOOD BONES Review — What's Left Behind

For more information visit The Public Theater website.