Joe Papp in Five Acts is a documentary -- with Meryl Streep, James Earl Jones, Kevin Kline, Christopher Walken, Olympia Dukakis, Mandy Patinkin, Martin Sheen, Ntozake Shange and more legends of stage and screen – about Papp, the champion of the arts, who brought free Shakespearean theater to New York, nurtured many playwrights, directors and actors and brought the arts and an opportunity to be a part of the arts to persons of all races and incomes. Papp himself was a street kid from Brooklyn, who hid his Jewish parentage and upbringing until middle age and played a part in the development of early versions of stage shows that went on to major success, including "Hair" and "A Chorus Line." Tracie Holder, a social issue documentary filmmaker, and editor and journalist Karen Thorsen created the film which was co-produced with PBS/American Masters.