“Joe Papp in Five Acts,” a new documentary film by Tracie Holder and Karen Thorsen about the late founder of the Public Theater, will have its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival in April. Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Kevin Kline and James Earl Jones are among the artists featured in the Papp film that is co-produced with PBS/American Masters. According to the creators, “In Joe Papp’s eyes, art is for everyone, not just a privileged few. This is the story of this indomitable, street-wise champion of the arts who brought more theater to more people than any other producer in history… This documentary lets Papp’s great accomplishments and tumultuous personal history be revealed by the artists he helped create – and sometimes tried to destroy.”
Joseph Papp has launched Meryl’s theatrical career in the seventies, giving her leading roles in the Public Theater productions of “Henry V”, “The Taming of the Shrew” and “Measure for Measure”, among many others. And just in time for the news on the documentry, I’ve added a couple of fantastic high quality pictures of Meryl’s early stage work to the image library. Enjoy!
