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The New York Shakespeare Festival's Delacorte was not exclusively for Shakespeare.

Papp would sometimes vary the summertime fare.

In the summer of 1977 Gloria Foster was Clytemnestra in the towering Greek tragedy Agamemnon followed by Raul Julia as Macheath in Richard Foreman's production of Bertolt Brecht / Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera, which later transferred to Lincoln Center.

Papp was also a Gilbert and Sullivan lover, and in 1980, to commemorate the centenary of The Pirates of Penzance, he mounted a new staging of the opera at The Delacorte Theatre in Central Park.

The show was a sensation, and Papp transferred it to the Broadway stage, where it ran for over 800 performances.

It won Tony Awards for Best Revival, Best Director ( Wilford Leach ), and Best Actor ( Kevin Kline ).

Linda Ronstadt was nominated for Best Actress in a Musical.