NEW YORK, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- George C. Wolfe, producer of New York's Public Theater, will retire from his post in the fall after 11 years, the New York Times reported Thursday.
Wolfe, 49, said he is leaving to pursue more creative avenues, such as writing plays, screenplays and novels, which have been shelved during the past decade to enable him to run the Public's five stages on Lafayette Street, its Joe's Pub cabaret and its summer productions in Central Park.
"I actually missed being a full-time artist and having the chance to write," he said. "I was curious as to what would come out of me."
During his tenure as producer, Wolfe, the leading black stage director in the United States and an openly gay man, personified the Public's determination to reach diverse artists and audiences.
Wolfe's departure creates the third high-level cultural post to open in New York in the last two weeks. Robert J. Harth, artistic and executive director of Carnegie Hall, died Jan. 30 at 47, and Joseph Volpe announced his retirement Monday as general manager of the Metropolitan Opera.
