PAPP’S PRIDE

The legacy of Joe Papp (1921-1991), the legendary theater producer ne Yosl Papirofsky, was discussed at a public discussion sponsored by the Columbia University Arts Initiative. Panelists mulled over how Papp nurtured young actors and playwrights, fought parks Commissioner Robert Moses over the right to stage free Shakespeare in Central Park, and embodied the ideal of live theater. After he died, the Public Theater was renamed for him.

The evening’s moderator and the director of Columbia University Arts Initiative, Gregory Mosher, called Papp “a persistent presence,” an “energizing force,” and a man whose work involved an embrace of the disenfranchised.

Mr. Mosher also recalled Papp’s command of the Bard: “He knew buckets of Shakespeare.” Mr. Mosher – an actor himself – debuted onstage in New York in the lowly role of a messenger in King Lear for the Shakespeare Festival. His single line read, “News, madam. The British pow’rs are marching hitherward.” The discussion’s program notes stated, “He has pondered this line ever since.”

Panelist Kevin Kline similarly had humble dramatic beginnings. The Oscar and Tony winner said he had been accepted to Juilliard Drama School and “had a summer to kill” before classes started. He got a job carrying a spear in one of Papp’s park productions.

Mr. Kline recalled that one night before a show Papp, who faced a fiscal crisis at the time, rallied his actors. He then launched into the Saint Crispin’s Day speech in “Henry V,” Act 4,Scene III: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers”

Mr. Kline said he always loved performing free theater in the park before an audience because, “You knew they were getting their money’s worth.”

Eduardo Machado, who heads Columbia University’s playwriting program and also sat on the panel, interjected to speak of a recent time he did not: He recently attended a reading at an off-Broadway theater that apparently did not merit its $15 ticket price.

Papp’s passion for the theater was discussed. When Mr. Kline directed Hamlet, tears welled up in Papp’s eyes. “It’s working. Keep going,” he told Mr. Kline.

Mr. Kline said Papp constantly encouraged actors to be work at the top of their abilities and pursue all sorts of projects. But he “demanded absolute loyalty.” If you backed out due to a scheduling conflict over a more lucrative film, Mr. Kline said, “You’re done with Joe Papp.”

A drama critic at the New York Observer, John Heilpern, who is currently at work on an authorized biography of John Osborne, described Papp’s legacy as threefold. Firstly, Papp believed in nonprofit theater as a radical alternative to Broadway, even while using proceeds from successes such as “Chorus Line” to help subsidize his activities. Secondly, the theater for Papp had to be free. Thirdly, Papp championed a “public” theater in which the audience reflected the city. One invites the world into your theater, as it were.

All three of these aspects of Papp’s legacy are under threat in today’s climate, Mr. Heilpern said.

Panelist Woodie King Jr., who is founder and producing director of New Federal Theatre and National Black Touring Circuit, recalled how Papp taught him how to fire people “over dinner and drinks.” The words to use went like, “You’d be happier in another situation.”

Diane Paulus, who said she never met Papp, said Papp’s legacy was one that bridged the theater and larger social world. “He was a citizen,” she said. Ms. Paulus’s upcoming projects include “Death and the Powers,” a new opera whose composer is Tori Machover and librettist Robert Pinsky, and “Castro in Harlem” a musical theater production based on Fidel Castro’s visit to Harlem in 1960.

What accounted for Papp’s energy? Mr. Kline said Papp didn’t sleep; Mr. Mosher broke in to add that no one who smoked eight cigars a day slept.

One subject not discussed that evening was who will succeed George Wolfe at the Public Theater. Mr. Mosher said he wanted to steer away from that topic to focus on Papp.

Mr. Heilpern said the whole secret of a vibrant theater is that it exists in a danger zone, and involves risks as a last artistic truth-bearing endeavor. He recalled the time Samuel Beckett was watching a rehearsal of his play “Endgame” and an actor in it felt that he was failing. Beckett told the actor, “Fail better.”

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CITY ROOM SIT-IN

At the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Arthur Gelb spoke about his memoir “City Room” (Putnam), which recounts his career at the New York Times He joined the paper as a copyboy in 1944 and eventually rose in the ranks to become managing editor.

In his talk, he recounted an amusing anecdote about the time Joseph Papp walked into the Times and asked Mr. Gelb to review a play that evening. “It’s a question of life and death for our company,” he said.

When Mr. Gelb informed Papp that he already had made previous plans with his wife, Mr. Papp replied that he was going to camp right there on the floor unless Mr. Gelb changed his mind. Mr. Gelb went to the performance.

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HUMOROUSLY TITLED PROGRAMS

The City College of New York hosts a seminar in November entitled, “The Internet Scares Me. But My Business Needs a Web site”…Journalist Nico Fried of Suddeutsche Zeitung speaks on Tuesday at Deutsches Haus at New York University on “Kerry or Bush – If Germans Were to Vote in the U.S.”

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TWO ANNIVERSARIES

The St. Mark’s Historic Landmark Fund is celebrating its 25th anniversary today…Community Access, which assists people with psychiatric disabilities to move from shelters to institutions to independent living, celebrates its 30th anniversary on Wednesday.

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UNKNOWN AND UNDERGROUND

Two books about Gotham – “New York Underground: The Anatomy of a City” (Routledge) by Julia Solis and Brad Dunn and Daniel Hood’s “New York: The Unknown City” (Arsenal Pulp Press) – are feted this week on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.