Patrick

Willingham

Patrick Willingham is an arts executive with over 30 years of management experience in the theatrical industry.  Since 2011, Patrick has served as Executive Director of The Public Theater in New York City, home to the beloved Free Shakespeare in the Park program at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park as well as five theaters on Lafayette Street in downtown Manhattan producing a robust mix of new plays and musicals. The Public is also home to Joe’s Pub, a musical cabaret space that presents over 800 nights of programming per year, as well as several community-based programs that engage participants across all five boroughs of New York. Willingham has overseen the tripling of programming and revenue and notably served as the originating producer for the Tony Award winning Best Musicals FUN HOME and HAMILTON.  Prior to The Public Theater he served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Blue Man Productions where he guided the significant expansion of the company from a single production in New York City to a world-wide enterprise with eight permanent productions in the U.S. and abroad, multiple touring productions, two albums of recorded music, hundreds of television appearances, and numerous partnerships with major corporations, including Intel and Pepsi. Willingham holds an M.F.A. in Performing Arts Management from Brooklyn College, a B.F.A. in Theatre Design and Technology from the University of Wyoming; he has served as an adjunct professor and a frequent lecturer on building and executing strategy in an arts enterprise.