Sheryl Kaller is a theatrical director. She has Broadway credits that include Mothers and Sons and Next Fall by Geoffrey Nauffts, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Director. She has directed at many theatres including Roundabout Theatre Company, Lincoln Center Theater, The New Group, Pasadena Playhouse, Primary Stages, Williamstown Theatre Festival, American Conservatory Theater, New York Stage and Film, Geffen Playhouse, Philadelphia Theatre Company, and Naked Angels.

She told me her story and gave me her perspective on all things including:

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com 

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Jonathan Lomma, Powerhouse Literary Agent to the Stars, discusses his theory of how musicals changed after 2001, how an emerging writer gets on his radar, and more.

Jonathan Lomma is a literary agent with William Morris Endeavor and former child actor. He represents authors, directors, lyricists, writers, and choreographers such as Terrence McNally, Arthur Laurents, and Edward Albee.

We talked about what it was like working with such major writers like the triple-play above, as well as:

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com 

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Pam MacKinnon, Tony Award-Winning Director, discusses how she went from pursuing a Ph.D. in Political Science to a career in directing, why Broadway shows not slated for Broadway that end up there have an advantage, and more.

Pam MacKinnon is a theatre director. She has directed for the stage Off-Broadway, on Broadway and in regional theatre. She won the Obie Award for Directing and received a Tony Award nomination, Best Director, for her work on Clybourne Park. In 2013 she received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for a revival of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She directed multiple shows for Edward Albee including Peter and Jerry, Occupant, A Delicate Balance, and The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? Other shows she has directed include Amélie, and The Parisian Woman. 

Here’s a statistical truth bomb for you: women direct only about 17% of the shows on Broadway.

How do I know that? Pam MacKinnon has been keeping track.

Pam is already one of the few female A-list directors that make up that unbalanced percentage, having directed as many shows on Broadway as any woman out there (only Stroman has her beat). But that doesn’t mean she’s not determined to help others get to where she is today.

During our podcast, we talked about what we can all do to even the playing stage, as well as . . .

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com 

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Catherine Zuber, Six-Time Tony Award Winning Costume Designer, discusses how she was terrible at sewing when she started . . . and that did NOT impact her ability to design, why her favorite costumes aren’t the most beautiful, and more.

Catherine Zuber is a costume designer for the Broadway theater and opera, among other venues. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama, and has been referred to as "one of theater's most sought-after costume designers on both coasts." Her Broadway credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Tony nomination), Born Yesterday (Tony nomination), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Cry-Baby, Dracula, Frozen, Twelfth Night (Tony and Drama Desk nominations), Ivanov, Triumph of Love (Drama Desk nomination), The Sound of Music and The Red Shoes among others. She has designed costumes for some 57 Off-Broadway plays and musicals including The Cherry Orchard (2009), The Winter's Tale (2009), As You Like It (2010), The Tempest (2010) and Richard III (2012).

During our Saturday morning chat, Catherine and I did NOT talk about threading needles, but we did talk about:

Listen in to Ms. Zuber school me on costume design, and I promise, no matter where costume design ranks on your list of “Theater Things You Know,” it’ll go up after this thirty-five minute Tony winner’s master class.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com 

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Jerry Zaks, Four-Time Tony Award Winner, discusses how he agreed to direct a show even though he didn’t know what directing really was, the best advice he ever got, which made him change his attitude overnight, and more.

Jerry Zaks is a stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me a Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Guys and Dolls. He made his Broadway acting debut in the original production of Grease and made his directing debut with the off-Broadway production of Beyond Therapy. He has also directed many other productions such as Girl Crazy, Stairway to Paradise, 101 Dalmatians Musical, and the Broadway production of Sister Act. His screen credits include Outrageous Fortune, and Husbands and Wives. He received the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater in 1994.

He’s the go-to guy if you’ve got a musical that’s supposed to make people laugh. And we talked about what it takes to make people slap their knees, as well as . . .

Once on This Island, Winner of the 2018 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, is the sweeping, universal tale of Ti Moune, a fearless peasant girl in search of her place in the world, and ready to risk it all for love. Check it out here: onceonthisisland.com

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com 

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Doug Hughes, Tony Award-winning Director, discusses why his research for plays gets him a lot of frequent flyer miles, how directing a play is like a lawyer trying a case, and more.