9. 55 of the Public Theater’s Productions Have Moved to Broadway

Today, the Public maintains a wide breadth of programming from public forums and discussions on today’s most salient social and political issues to Shakespeare, it’s almost easy to forget the Downtown location’s ‘humble’ beginnings. The world premier production musical of the Astor Place location was in 1967 and was Hair, the Tony Award-winning and Grammy nominated musical which a few years ago celebrated a revival on Broadway.

Not only that, but one of Broadway’s longest running shows, A Chorus Line, opened at the Public in April 1975 before moving to New York’s Great White Way a few months later. In total, as the 50th anniversary at the Public Theater’s downtown location, 55 productions have moved to Broadway.

Listen to rare audio of a 1975 performance of A Chorus Line.