The Federal Theater Project brought live theater to thousands of ordinary Americans for the first time. At times controversial for its social commentary, the FTP became a target of the right wing. Shapiro’s award-winning book “The Playbook, A Story of the Theater, Democracy and the Making of a Culture War” chronicles the rise and demise of the Federal Theater and the parallels to our current political reality.
  James Shapiro is a professor at Columbia University and a Shakespeare Scholar-in-Residence at the Public Theater in New York City. Susan Quinn is author of “Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art Out of Desperate Times,” about the FTP director Hallie Flanagan and her battle against the House Un-American Activities Committee. Susan’s play, “It CAN Happen Here,” co-written with Dan Jacobs, premiered at New York's Culture Lab in March 2025. FREE. REGISTER.