Theater News

?uestlove, David Byrne, Suzan-Lori Parks, and Wynton Marsalis to Say Smart Things You’re Going to Want to Hear at The Public Theater’s Public Forums

The Public Theater will present two Public Forum Duets this February.

?uestlove
?uestlove
(© Tristan Fuge)

The Public Theater has announced that is has lined up ?uestlove (The Roots) and David Byrne (co-founder of the Talking Heads) as well as Broadway playwright and Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks (Topdog / Underdog) and Pulitzer and Grammy winner Wynton Marsalis, Artistic Director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, to participate in two Public Forum Duets this February.

First, on February 26 at NYU’s Skirball Center, ?uestlove and Byrne will discuss music, specifically how what we’re taught about it and how our ideas shape the songs we create and consume. ?uestlove is teaching a course on classic albums at NYU this spring, and David Byrne is a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer whose show Here Lies Love is being presented by The Public in April. If you need further proof that these two know what they’re talking about when it comes to music, check out the videos below.

Then, on February 28 at Joe’s Pub, Pulitzer Prize winners Parks and Marsalis will talk about the way the songs we sing are part of our national identity. Suzan-Lori Parks was the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer for Drama and she also adapted the book for the 2011 revival of The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, which won the 2012 Tony Award for Best Revival. Wynton Marsalis is an internationally acclaimed musician and a leading advocate of American culture. You can see the work of these two masters (a monologue from Park’s Topdog / Underdog and Wynton Marsalis in concert) below.