NEWSLETTER
With free performances September 4-8
New York, N.Y. (July 14, 2026) – The Public Theater (Artistic Director, Oskar Eustis; Executive Director, Patrick Willingham) announced casting today for Public Works’ PUBLIC RECORD, a new original production by Public Works based on a concept by Emily Lim and Dan Canham, originally developed by Public Works partner Public Acts at the U.K.’s National Theatre, Sunderland Culture, and Sunderland Empire.
Written by Lisa Sanaye Dring, with music by Michael Thurber, direction by Emily Lim, and co-direction and choreography by Dan Canham, PUBLIC RECORD brings New Yorkers from all five boroughs together through music, dance, and storytelling. This marks Public Works’ first production at The Delacorte since 2023, and the final offering of 2026’s Shakespeare for the City presented by Citizens. This free production will run Friday, September 4 through Tuesday, September 8.
New Yorkers from all five boroughs are coming together to create a live album—on stage, in real time. PUBLIC RECORD, based on a concept by Dan Canham and Emily 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 Lisa Sanaye Dring, with music supervision by Michael Thurber, direction by Emily Lim, and co-direction and choreography by Dan Canham, this electrifying new production stands as an act of collective hope, joy, and resistance.
The album will be preserved by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts forever, ensuring that long after summer fades, it will remain a powerful reminder that the true record of a city isn’t just its headlines—it’s the sound of neighbors standing side by side.
Director Emily Lim and co-director and choreographer Dan Canham said, “We are so excited to bring Public Record to 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.”
The cast of PUBLIC RECORD includes dancers Raechelle Manalo, Niki Saludez, and William Roberson; musicians Louis Cato, Arturo O’Farrill, Arun Ramamurthy, and Mireya Ramos; DJ Papi Juice; and 100 Public Works community members from all five boroughs.
Public Works’ PUBLIC RECORD features scenic design by Arthur Wilson, costume design by Rodrigo Muñoz, lighting design by Victoria Bain, sound design by Taylor J. Williams, orchestrations and music direction by Michael Thurber, music contracting by David Lai. Narda E. Alcorn is the production stage manager and Benjamin E. C. Pfister and Kate Wellhofer ]are the stage managers.
Public Works seeks 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—bringing together community organizations, civic institutions, and New Yorkers of all ages and backgrounds with experienced artists—Public 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—including classes, potlucks, attending performances, and our summer production—Public Works activates cultural institutions’ potential to become spaces where people find belonging, combat isolation, and are nurtured as artists.
The nine community partners are: Brownsville Recreation Center, Casita Maria Center for Arts and Education, Center for Family Life in Sunset Park, Children’s Aid, DreamYard, Domestic Workers United, The Fortune Society, Hunts Point Alliance for Children, and Military Resilience Foundation.
Public Works’ PUBLIC RECORD closes 2026’s SHAKESPEARE FOR THE CITY, The Public’s annual summer celebration of free programming bringing world-class theater to audiences through New York City. The Free Shakespeare in the Park production of ROMEO & JULIET kicked off the summer, followed by Mobile Unit’s free touring production of AS YOU LIKE IT. Free Shakespeare in the Park continues with THE WINTER’S TALE before Public Works returns to The Delacorte over Labor Day weekend. Every performance and event is completely free and open to all! Join us in celebrating the joy, power, and human connection of live theater all summer long. Presenting partner Citizens joins lead sponsor, the Jerome L. Greene Foundation, in support of Free Shakespeare in the Park.
BIOS
LISA SANAYE DRING (Playwright) Dring’s play SUMO was 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. Her play Kairos had a Rolling World Premiere with National New Play Network and was nominated for a 2025 Jeff Award for New Work. She 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. Dring received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Interactive Programming for a piece she co-wrote and co-directed with Matt Hill called Welcome to the Blumhouse Live and was a 2025 recipient of the Helen Merrill Award.
MICHAEL THURBER (Music Supervision, Orchestrations, Music Director) is a Tony-nominated, Drama Desk/Outer Critics Circle-winning composer and lyricist. Broadway: Just in Time. Off-Broadway: Twelfth Night, Merry Wives, Romeo & Juliet (Shakespeare in the Park); Goddess (The Public Theater). As a bassist, Thurber was an original member of the house band on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” He studied music at Juilliard and the Interlochen Arts Academy.
DAN CANHAM (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’s most celebrated theater and dance companies including Punchdrunk, Kneehigh, and DV8, in 2011 he created his own company Still House. Still House productions include SESSION, Of Riders & Running Horses, and 30 Cecil Street, with touring including Australia, China, Canada, and throughout Europe. Key projects as co-director and choreographer include Brighter Still (closing event for Bradford City of Culture 2025) and Public Record (National Theatre’s Public Acts). Movement director credits include The Odyssey: The Underworld (National Theatre’s Public Acts), Jane Eyre (National Theatre/Bristol Old Vic), A Monster Calls (Old Vic/Bristol Old Vic), and Peter Pan (National Theatre). As a filmmaker, his work has featured in festivals all over the world. Canham’s work is rooted in collective joy, heart, courage and humanity. dancanham.com
EMILY LIM (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 Public Record (The Fire Station, Sunderland), The Odyssey: The Underworld and Pericles (both in The Olivier Theatre, National Theatre). Other directing credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare’s Globe); Brighter Still (closing ceremony for UK City of Culture 2025); The Enormous Crocodile (Roald Dahl Story Company, Regents Park Open Air Theatre, upcoming USA / UK tours); the internationally acclaimed Brainstorm (as Co-Director, Company Three); Yoko Ono’s Bells for Peace (Manchester International Festival) and Jeremy Deller’s We’re Here Because We’re Here (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.
ABOUT CITIZENS FINANCIAL GROUP, INC.
Citizens Financial Group, Inc. is one of the nation’s 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 www.citizensbank.com or visit us on X, LinkedIn, or Facebook.
THE PUBLIC continues 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’s 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’s 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’s five boroughs, Public Works, and Joe’s Pub. Since premiering HAIR in 1967, The Public continues to create the canon of American Theater and is currently represented on Broadway by the Tony Award-winning musical Hamilton by 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’ Circle Awards, 72 AUDELCO Awards, 6 Antonyo Awards, and 6 Pulitzer Prizes. publictheater.org
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—the 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.
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’s legacy.
PUBLIC RECORD was 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.
Citizens is the presenting partner of SHAKESPEARE FOR THE CITY.
Leadership support for Public Works is provided by the Abrams Foundation, the Endeavor Foundation, and the Eisner Foundation.
Generous support for Public Works is provided by Jody & John Arnhold, the National Endowment for the Arts, the One World Fund, Select Equity Group, The SHS Foundation, the Laurie M. Tisch Illumination Fund, Susan & David Viniar, the Whiting Foundation, and Felice Zwas & Sarah Gallen.
Special thanks to the Robert and Mercedes Eichholz Foundation, The Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, and the Venable Foundation.
FREE TICKET INFORMATION
Public Works’ PUBLIC RECORD will run at The Delacorte Theater for five free performances, Friday, September 4 through Tuesday, September 8. All performances are at 8:00 p.m.
Tickets to PUBLIC RECORD will be distributed in a number of ways. Free tickets may be acquired on the day of the performance in person at The Delacorte Theater, via an in-person lottery in the lobby of The Public Theater at 425 Lafayette Street, or through a digital lottery via the TodayTix mobile app. All tickets are subject to availability.
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 212.967.7555, or visit publictheater.org.
The full performance calendar and complete distribution details can be found at publictheater.org.
The Delacorte Theater in Central Park is accessible by entering at 81st Street and Central Park West or at 79th Street and Fifth Avenue.
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