American Masters

When Joe Papp asked Meryl Streep to take over the theater

Clip: 06/03/2022 | 1m 41s  | Video has closed captioning.

Meryl Streep was touched, but perplexed when Joe Papp asked her to take over The Public Theater after his passing. "What he wanted was bigger than what could be, which was sort of always what was true with him," said Streep.

Aired: 06/03/22

Rating: NR

Problems Playing Video? | Closed Captioning

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