Crowd outside the Lafayette Theatre, in Harlem, at the opening of "Macbeth" produced by the WPA Federal Theatre Project, 1936.

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was a New Deal program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935 as a response to the high unemployment during the Great Depression. The program put people to work on public infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, buildings, and parks. The WPA also funded arts and cultural programs, including the Federal Art Project, the Federal Music Project, and the Federal Theatre Project, which employed actors, writers, musicians, and other artists. The WPA was one of the largest and most ambitious New Deal programs, ultimately providing jobs for millions of unemployed Americans. The program ended in 1943, as the US economy was recovering from the depression and World War II was creating new job opportunities. - Picryl description