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The Republic Theater Company is a New York-based performing arts institution committed to ensemble collaboration and artistic risk. It is our goal, as an ensemble, to capture the spirit of classic plays through potent new translations as well as through invigorating musical, satiric, and comedic adaptations. We are a dynamic and diverse group of emerging artists who have, through time and experience, developed a strong bond based on a commitment to artistic growth and exploration, vitalizing theater, and our New York community.
our mission
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Republic Theater Company
115 MacDougal Street, New York, NY 10012
Phone: (646) 280-9764
Site Design by Adam Reich
our story
The history of the Republic is very much tied up with the membership of the company. As the company has grown and established itself, it has gone by different names and it has adapted itself to different stages, but its membership and the dedication of its members to the work and to each other has always been its uniting factor.
The story began with two Los Angeles hopefuls who moved to New York City with the desire to create an ensemble-based theater company that had the ability and the unity to create compelling and inspiring theater. They were Sarah Rosenberg, a high school drama teacher, and Louis Reyes Cardenas, her ex-drama student and a struggling actor. They formed an ensemble known as the Millennium Talent Group. This enthusiastic team of actors along with their artistic directors created an instant sensation called Fools in Love, a spirited 1950’s doo-wop-style re-imagining of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The show aimed at making Shakespeare accessible to younger audiences, and was soon hailed by audiences and critics alike all over New York City, getting rave reviews from the New York Times, Time Out New York, The Village Voice, The New Yorker, Theatermania, Daily Variety, and many other publications. This tremendous success led to a short production of the show at BAM’s Harvey Theater.
When Fools in Love was over, the strong artistic and personal bond that had been formed between the members of the acting ensemble remained; they were united, energized, and ready to tackle new projects. As a result, in April 2006, under different leadership, this enthused ensemble created the Republic Theater Company. Within a month, the Republic performed a staged reading of another Shakespearean adaptation, a musical version of The Tempest, at the Public and at the Perry Street Theater. And by the end of that year, the Republic had created a four-play month-long festival at the Cherry Lane Theatre, which included a revamped full version of The Tempest, a bawdy, edgy adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet called The EC: Elsinore County, a dark modernized translation of Strindberg’s Miss Julie, and a comedic adaptation of a classic James Thurber fairy tale, The 13 Clocks.
In June 2007, the Republic’s staged reading of Paul Cozby’s non-Disney version of High School Musical at New World Stages was well received, and most recently, in January 2008, the Republic and the Manhattan Theater Source co-produced a four-week run of Arthur Schnitzler’s La Ronde.