30/06/2025
“Friday night at about 11:00 PM, Paul Libin passed away peacefully in the presence of his loving family.
The New York theater has lost a giant.
Paul was one of the most influential and successful theatrical producers of the last 75 years. In a career that began with the birth of the Off-Broadway movement after the Second World War and continued through a half-century of success on Broadway, Paul discovered, supported, and produced some of the greatest talents of the American theater. He did it with a grace, intelligence, and humor that made him a beloved figure in an often difficult and contentious industry.
He began producing Off-Broadway, where his revival of THE CRUCIBLE in a converted storefront made a hit out of a play that had initially failed to convince audiences or critics. In that very first venture, he built a theater in the round, which became his trademark when he joined Ted Mann as leader of Circle in the Square downtown, the legendary Off-Broadway theater where Eugene O’Neill’s later works found their perfect home, where Jose Quintero, Jason Robards, Colleen Dewhurst, and George C. Scott (a particular favorite of Paul’s) helped pioneer a powerful new American theater, made up of equal parts muscle and art.
Paul moved Circle uptown to its current Broadway home in 1972 and continued to run it until his death—a longevity unmatched by any producer in American history. In 1990, he also became Producing Director of Jujamcyn Theaters, a position he held until 2017. He was also the longtime President of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
His productions were too numerous to mention; the first one I saw was his revival of DEATH OF A SALESMAN with George C. Scott in 1975. The most recent was last April 26, when Jonathan Groff opened in JUST IN TIME at Circle in the Square.
Paul became a friend when we moved our production of HAIR to the Al Hirschfeld, a Jujamcyn theater, in 2009. On our first day in the theater, he told our youthful cast that he expected them to “wear the theater out.” He was a pleasure to negotiate with, a joy to problem-solve with, and a delight to listen to, he had stories that wouldn’t quit. Although he had spent half a century in the commercial theater, it was an artist’s heart still beating in his breast. He loved the theater, he loved the art form, he loved the people who made it. He never forgot that it was people who made it, and that those people counted.
In the last few months, I was lucky enough to get the chance to interview him on film (organized by his grandson Travis). I knew we had to have a record of what this wise man of the theater had seen. Names and dates sometimes failed him, but the stories never did. His generosity of spirit was undiminished. I felt blessed to be in his presence, and to call him friend. He was a mensch, if ever there was one.
Like Joe Papp and Bernie Gersten, Paul was one of those magnificent Jewish Americans who came home from defeating fascism and helped build an American theatrical culture, ambitious and democratic, popular and powerful, suitable for a great Republic. We will miss him, but oh, how grateful we should be that we had him. We will honor him best by remembering him and keeping his spirit, his values, and his love of theater alive.” -Oskar Eustis
