Women of the Public Theater

The Public Theater is a New York gem. Countless plays have been produced there with young unknown playwrights who have then gone on to take their shows to Broadway.

I went to the annual fundraising event this year for the first time. It was an absolutely beautiful night. You would have thought that someone dialed it in. The event takes play in Central Park dining al fresco as the sun sets next to the Delacorte Theater. After dinner, there is a show.

This year the show was dedicated to Women of the Public. Someone is paying attention. The show highlighted the female playwrights of yesteryear and today who are part of the Public. There wasn’t a male on stage.

It is great to finally see women being acknowledge for all we do. My biggest fear is that the excitement, the accolades, the acknowledgement, the power and the applause will die down. We lost a generation of women who thought that the generation before them had done enough but it wasn’t enough. Will it ever be enough? Men and women should be on equal footing at every turn from the arts to business. We are far from that.

I was thrilled to applaud the women of the theater on stage and to see One sung from Chorus Line being shown with only women on stage but let’s not forget, making sure that women are applauded as often as their male counterparts can not stop. A rising tide lifts all boats and female captains are definitely not sailing in the same waters….yet.