Fireside Chat, Interview
Oskar Eustis: From "Hair" to "Hamilton": The Promise of The Public Theater
- Oskar Justus intends to continue evolving personally to lead the Public Theater, aligning with its 1954 mission established by Joe Papp to include all voices.
- He anticipates the theater will foster a national identity by reflecting commonalities among diverse audiences, using stories as a "great equalizer" to draw people into conversation rather than directly changing political views.
- Justus predicts that Fun Home will succeed by resonating with the general American experience despite initial expectations of a limited run, such as seven weeks in a 300-seat theater.
- He foresees Hamilton becoming a transformative artistic experience that conveys a meta-message of immigrant ownership in America, a view held even after previously doubting such an impact would occur again following Angels in America.
- Justus expects Angels in America to remain a central part of the theatrical canon, noting its 25th-anniversary production as one of the greatest plays ever written.
- He recalls that the NEA commissioning program for Angels in America concluded successfully two years prior to federal restrictions preventing government grants to individual artists.
- The speaker notes that Angels in America was commissioned just before a period of "big culture wars," highlighting the precarious nature of federal support during that specific era.
- Justus believes the future of theater must address the question of "who is us" and avoid creating an "us or them" division to prevent societal collapse.
- He recalls that Lin-Manuel Miranda initially resisted labeling Hamilton a musical, preferring to create a "concept album" to avoid the constraints of writing a book.