With minimal staging, maximum impact, and your support, we can tour this show and spark inspiration in both young and old.

Dr. Jonas Salk’s belief that life-saving knowledge, like his polio vaccine, should be accessible to everyone and Robert Galinsky agrees. Could You Patent the Sun? is a solo theatre piece that explores the life and legacy of Dr. Jonas Salk, the visionary scientist who developed the polio vaccine and who famously refused to patent it, believing that life-saving knowledge belongs to everyone.

With minimal staging and maximum impact, Galinsky fuses humor, grit, and heart to embody Salk as both a man and a mirror for our times. The 55-minute performance is an intimate theatrical experience that raises timely questions about science, compassion, innovation, and the human spirit.

“When Salk said, ‘Could you patent the sun?’ he was speaking against the madness of putting a price tag on human survival,” says Galinsky. “My father, a pharmacist and science teacher, believed knowledge was meant to be shared. My grandfather, born in the same village as Salk’s, knew roots matter. For me, caring for people is the only reason to stand on a stage. This piece is my act of service and my reminder that the light we inherit must never be owned by anyone.”

A proud son of New York City, Salk grew up in the Bronx, studied at City College, and embodied a distinctly New York blend of grit, intellect, and compassion.

At its core, Could You Patent the Sun? is not a biography but a moral meditation - a living, breathing reflection of the Jewish principle of Tikkun Olam (repairing the world) and of New York’s enduring spirit of generosity and ingenuity. Through Salk’s story, Galinsky invites audiences to celebrate a shared belief: that knowledge, kindness, and community are our greatest collective inheritance.

TEAM

ROBERT GALINSKY (Writer/Performer) is a multifaceted director, actor, poet, playwright and founder of GalinskyCoaching.com. He was recently honored with the 2025 Muhammad Ali Face of Compassion in America Award and he serves as a guest lecturer at the Juilliard School of Art. Galinsky has lectured at Yale School of Medicine, Oxford University and he has directed and co-authored more than 50 TEDx Talks. He teaches literacy and theatre at Sing Sing Maximum Security Prison, Rikers Island Jail, and over a dozen youth detention facilities in New York City, Atlanta, and Los Angeles. Galinsky made his Off-Broadway debut as both playwright and actor at the Cherry Lane Theater with his acclaimed solo show The Bench, A Homeless Love Story, directed by Jay O. Sanders and executive produced by Terry Schnuck. The play has since been adapted into a feature film, directed by Ron Carlson, scheduled for release in Spring 2026. He also directed and produced the award-winning Off-Broadway solo show Tripping on Life by Lin Shaye (both are available on BroadwayOnDemand.com.) Widely recognized for his unique ability to engage incarcerated individuals through literacy, poetry, and performance, Galinsky also applies these same methods to artists, lawyers, and C-suite executives. Notable clients include 50 Cent, NFL Hall of Famer Edgerrin James, Chelsea Clinton, and fashion icon Winnie Harlow.

MARK SCHOENFELD (Executive Producer) is a songwriter, librettist, and producer. His mother’s struggle with polio brings deep personal resonance to his role as Executive Producer of Could You Patent the Sun?, aligning his career-long advocacy for creativity and compassion with the play’s message of science in service of humanity. Mark is best known as the co-creator of the Broadway musical Brooklyn (BKLYN), which opened at the Plymouth Theatre in 2004 under Jeff Calhoun’s direction and featured Eden Espinosa. The show’s journey, from Schoenfeld writing songs on the streets of Brooklyn to a full Broadway run, reflected his signature mix of unconventional artistry and relentless drive. Over a five-decade career, Schoenfeld has secured five major record-label deals (Capitol, EMI, Manhattan, Razor & Tie, Motown), sold projects to Hollywood studios including Disney, Warner Bros., and DreamWorks, and earned the nickname “the pitchman” for his legendary long-form pitches that led Disney to sign him to a development deal. He continues to develop stage and screen projects, including the animated musical Music Boy with Hugh Jackman. A passionate discoverer of talent, Schoenfeld has mentored artists such as Jodi Katz, Jasmen Hunter, and Nina Dicker.

CORY MICHAEL HERMAN (Director/Producer) serves as Artistic Director at the 14th Street Y, part of the Educational Alliance in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, where he designs and oversees arts, culture, and older-adult programs—including intergenerational offerings that connect teens, adults, and elders through performance, movement, and storytelling. He is the founding director of the Alliance Stage Company (2010–present), a senior theater ensemble that develops new work and presents public performances across New York City. Notable initiatives under his leadership include the inaugural Celebrate Arts Festival, staged across five Educational Alliance older-adult sites to spotlight creative aging. His work in creative aging has been profiled by PIX11 News, highlighting classes that bridge generations through the arts. As a director, Herman’s New York credits span The Storm (with Alison Fraser & Sharna Burgess), Mulberry Street, Against All Odds (Mazer Theatre), Curtains Up!, [Im]Perfect Comedy, and Chatterton Country Club. He assisted playwright-director Charles Messina on the Off-Broadway premiere of A Room of My Own (starring Ralph Macchio & Mario Cantone) and on the staged reading of The Wanderer: The Story of Dion. Herman’s current portfolio at the 14Y includes partnerships with the Sirovich Center for Balanced Living and special presentations that foreground access, equity, and community storytelling.

JOSHUA WHITE (Projection Consultant) was born and raised in New York City. He studied theater and design at Carnegie Mellon University and filmmaking at the University of Southern California. In 1967, he founded the Joshua Light Show, a group of artists improvising with projections in live concert venues. While much of their work was created for classical music and jazz performances, a major turning point came with the opening of Bill Graham’s Fillmore East on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in the spring of 1968. The Joshua Light Show were resident artists at Fillmore East and performed live behind all the major musical artists of the time: Frank Zappa, Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, The Doors, During this same period, JLS toured Europe and created the legendary party scene for John Schlesinger’s Academy Award winning film Midnight Cowboy. After performing at the original Woodstock festival in 1969, Joshua moved on developing large screen video projections for arena rock and festivals. A few years later as rock music became more prevalent on broadcast TV, he joined the Directors Guild and began a 30 year career in television. Always interested in exploring different styles, Joshua’s work included Max Headroom, The Jerry Lewis Telethon, The New York Philharmonic Young People’s Concerts, The Mickey Mouse Club, Inside The Actors Studio, ABC IN CONCERT, many soap operas and sit-coms including “The Library” episode of Seinfeld. After early retirement in1995, Joshua returned to his lifetime passion, creating and performing psychedelic light shows.

STEVE PAVLOVSKY (Projection Consultant) Steve Pavlovsky of Liquid Light Lab has been performing live analog visuals, as well as hosting workshops and teaching about the history of Light Shows, for the past 17 years. He has performed at venues as diverse as Madison Square Garden, Liberty Science Center Planetarium, Rolling Stone Studios, and Austin Psych Fest. Accompanied musicians have included Nick Mason (Pink Floyd), The Brothers (Allman Brothers), Phil Lesh (Grateful Dead), and Trey Anastasio (Phish). Steve has lectured and hosted workshops at institutions such as School of the Art Institute of Chicago, School of Visual Arts, Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute, and CUNY’s Advance Science Research Institute. He maintains an active social media presence, with popular tutorial and history videos on YouTube. He is also a student of the Joshua Light Show, citing their founder Joshua White as his mentor.