The late, great Joseph Papp, who founded The Public Theater in 1954, was a visionary, without question, and had practiced diversity and inclusion from the very beginning. His passion still lives within the walls of the famed [The] Public Theater which was become, over the years, a launching place for some of the best in theater.

Papp loved the work of William Shakespeare whose work was written and performed for the common people not the high brow crowd that’s hijacked it away. It was, at the time of the writing, the language of the ordinary urban folks and Papp believed in taking Shakespeare back to the streets which, I can only imagine, would make the William Shakespeare proud as punch!

Even before the physical theater, Papp began the famed Mobile Unit which celebrated it’s 60th anniversary, in 1957, with a production of Romeo and Juliet, which he directed with Bryarly Lee and Stephen Joyce in the titular roles. The 1957 Mobile Unit tour received early support from New York City authorities.

Stanley Lowell, then deputy mayor, was an early champion for free theater and mobilized city resources and departments to support Papp's production. The first Mobile Unit rolled up to performance venues across the city in borrowed Department of Sanitation vehicles with a wooden folding stage mounted to a truck bed and portable seating risers to accommodate 700 people per venue.

The city's Parks Department permitted performances in local parks across all five boroughs. Subsequent productions included Two Gentlemen of Verona, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Henry V, The Taming of the Shrew, Ti- Jean and His Brothers, Take One Step, Unfinished Women Cry in No Man’s Land While a Bird Dies in a Gilded Cage, and Volpone, among many others.

To commemorate the anniversary of the Mobile Unit, for the first time the sit- down run of TWELFTH NIGHT, directed by Saheem Ali, will be performed at The Public Theater—free—running Monday, April 24 through Sunday, May 14 with an official press opening on Thursday, April 27.

TWELFTH NIGHT is an adventurous tale about a young shipwrecked immigrant,Viola, who takes a chance on the “wet foot, dry foot” policy of the mid- ‘90s and washes up amidst the shore of glitzy Illyria, Florida, she finds herself a stranger in a fabulously strange new land. Thinking her twin brother has drowned, Viola throws herself into a new gig as assistant to Orsino, a wealthy Floridian with a serious case of love sickness for a wealthy lady, Olivia. Having disguised herself as a boy to become Orsino’s right hand man, Viola (now Cesario) is tasked with delivering his adoring valentines. But as Viola woos in her boss’s name, she falls head over spiky heels for the man himself, while Olivia turns her affections to the intriguing TWELFTH Night’s director SAHEEM ALI was born from Nairobi, Kenya, and his best known for his work as a theater director for both plays and musicals with an emphasis on new work. TWELFTH NIGHT features scenic design is by Arnulfo Maldonado, costume design by Dede Ayite, music composition by Michael Thurber, movement direction by Tanya Birl, and fight direction by Lisa Kopitsky.

“Twelfth Night is a perfect production to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the Mobile Unit. We hope that making our run at The Public free is just the beginning of expanding the legacy of Free Shakespeare in the Park,” said Artistic Director Oskar Eustis. “Saheem Ali has been a friend and colleague for years, and I’m delighted to welcome him to his first show at The Public.”

TWELFTH NIGHT will run at The Public Theater from Monday, April 24 through Sunday, May 14 in the LuEsther Theater, with an official press opening on Thursday, April 27.

Visit www.publictheater.org for more information.