The program, which spotlights plays which were important to the history of the company, coincides with the Public's 50th anniversary. The series will run from Sept. 23 to Oct. 3. The reading schedule and details are as follows:

Sept. 23 at 7 PM
Top Girls (1982) by Caryl Churchill
Directed by JoAnne Akalaitis

Sept. 24 at 3 PM
for colored girls who have considered suicide / when the rainbow is enuf (1976) by Ntozake Shange
Directed by Woody King, Jr.

Sept. 24 at 7 PM
Curse of the Starving Class (1978) by Sam Shepard
Directed by Scott Elliott

Sept. 25 at 7 PM
F.O.B. (1980) by David Henry Hwang
Directed by Jo Bonney

Sept. 25 at 7 PM
A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White (1977) by Adrienne Kennedy
Directed by Estelle Parsons

Sept. 29 at 7 PM
The Colored Museum (1987)
Written and directed by George C. Wolfe

Sept. 30 at 7 PM
The Marriage of Bette and Boo (1985) by Christopher Durang
Directed by Jerry Zaks

Oct. 1 at 7 PM
Short Eyes (1974) by Miguel Piñero
Directed by Stephen Adly Guirgus

Oct. 2 at 7 PM
The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel (1972) by David Rabe
Directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman

Oct. 3 at 7 PM
Miss Margarida's Way: Tragicomic Monologue for an Impetuous Woman (1977)
Written and Directed by R.to Athayde / Starring Estelle Parsons

All readings are free and open to the public. Reservations can be arranged by calling The Public Theater box office at (212) 260-2400 between the hours of 1 to 6 PM on Sundays and Mondays and 1 to 7:30 PM Tuesdays through Saturdays. There is a limit of four reservations per reading. Reserved tickets must be picked up 15 minutes prior to starting time, at which time unclaimed tickets will be released to people on the waiting list.