Tony Award Winners on Working In The Theatre

The Playscript/Director panelists -- Long Wharf Theatre artistic director Arvin Brown, playwright Howard Fast (Citizen Tom Paine), director/dramaturg Susan Gregg, playwright Israel Horovitz (Today, I Am A Fountain Pen), Tony-winning director Wilford Leach (for The Pirates of Penzance and The Mystery of Edwin Drood), playwright Leslie Lee (The War Party), playwright John Pielmeier (Agnes of God), and director Jim Simpson (Citizen Tom Paine) -- compare directing with the director's concept versus collaborating with the playwright and their vision; different interpretations and approaches in directing the same play; how a new approach manifests and influences everything from casting to the final production; why pre-production is a hands-off period for directors; and how theatre differs from the mediums of novels and films.

The producing team of the 1986 Tony-nominated play The House of Blue Leaves -- press representative Merle Debuskey, executive producer Bernard Gersten (whose tenure as Executive Producer of Lincoln Center Theater has scored them numerous Tony Awards including the recent revival of South Pacific, Coast of Utopia and Contact), playwright John Guare (Sweet Smell of Success and Tony Winner for the 1972 musical version of Two Gentlemen of Verona), advertising representative James Russek, and director Jerry Zaks (Tony Award winner for Best Direction in 1986 for The House of Blue Leaves, 1989 for Lend Me a Tenor, 1991 for Six Degrees of Separation and 1992 for Guys and Dolls) -- discuss how they came to work on this mid-1960's domestic comedy at Lincoln Center Theatre, first in the off-Broadway Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, then transferring to the much larger Vivian Beaumont Theatre which presented its own challenges, eventually moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway; the economics of producing, subscriber base, and ticket prices at a not-for-profit theater; finding key designers; casting sessions, working with strong actors, and maintaining quality performances in an extended run.

The panel of performers - Trazana Beverley ("Death and the King's Horseman"),

The panel of performers -- Trazana Beverley (Death and the King's Horseman), Mark Hamill (The Nerd), George S. Irving (Me and My Girl and Tony winner for Irene), Linda Lavin (Broadway Bound, 1987 Tony Award), Lynn Redgrave (Sweet Sue), and Colm Wilkinson (Les Miserables) -- discuss when they started performing and how they got their first roles; directors and effective directing styles; the power and influence of critics; audience response especially on opening night; finding the next job and how to cope with the audition process.

Injecting new energy and a new perspective into both commercial and not for profit theatre was among the topics discussed by our panel of producers -- Patrick Catullo, Tony Award winner Eric Falkenstein (in 2006 for The History Boys and in 2009 for the revival of The Norman Conquests), Jenny Gersten and Jill Furman Willis. They also talked about the role mentors' played in their development as producers; where they find new material; how they find investors for their shows; the need to be creative in selling tickets during tough economic times; using new media to promote their shows and to reach new audiences; the responsibility they feel to bring new writing voices into the theatre; and the risks they're willing to take to bring new and different material to the stage.

The production team for A Few Good Men -- producer David Brown; president of the Shubert Organization, Bernard Jacobs; Serino Coyne advertising representative Linda Lehman; and two-time Tony Award-winning producer and general manager Stuart Thompson (in 2001 for Proof and in 2009 for God of Carnage) -- talk about selecting a script by unknown playwright Aaron Sorkin; the details of general management including budget, advertising, ticket sales, government taxes; rising costs in the current economics of Broadway; film rights to plays and the effect of a film release; and what it takes to produce a Broadway show.

The panel of performers -- Jane Alexander (1969 Tony winner for The Great White Hope), Stockard Channing (Six Degrees of Separation and 1985 Tony Award winner for Best Actress in Joe Egg), Sarah Jessica Parker (The Substance Of Fire), Jonathan Pryce (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and his Tony Award-winning performances in 1977’s Comedians and 1991’s Miss Saigon), Ron Rifkin (Tony winner for the 1998 revival of Cabaret), Mercedes Ruehl (The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia? and Best Actress Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers) and Topol (Fiddler on the Roof) -- discuss playing the same role over the years, finding a rhythm in one's performance, learning about one's character during the rehearsal process, gaining discipline, and how each performer got their start.

The panel of performers -- Hinton Battle (Tony Awards for Sophisticated Ladies, The Tap Dance Kid and Miss Saigon), Roy Dotrice (The Homecoming and Tony winner for A Moon for the Misbegotten), Timothy Hutton (Babylon Gardens), Mary Louise Parker (Tony Award winner for Proof), Teresa Wright (On Borrowed Time), Stephanie Zimbalist (The Baby Dance) -- discuss working in regional and repertory theatre; where they started out in show business, if it was a family profession; the process of getting an agent; how the stage compares to television and film; and how different theatre spaces, sets, and stage sizes affect a show.

The panel of actors -- Alan Alda (Neil Simon's Jake's Women), Jodi Benson (Crazy For You), Roscoe Lee Brown (August Wilson's Two Trains Running), Glenn Close (three-time Tony winner for The Real Thing, Death and the Maiden and Sunset Boulevard), Richard Dreyfuss (Death and the Maiden), Harry Groener (Crazy For You), Tracy Pollan (Neil Simon's Jake's Women), and Lynn Redgrave (Ibsen's The Master Builder) -- discuss how they got started in the business and their big break, the significance of the rehearsal process, keeping a role fresh and not repeating the same performance, doing classic plays and if they are influenced by seeing different versions, and the difference between London and New York stages.

The panelists -- playwright Jon Robin Baitz (The End of the Day), playwright Charles Grodin (One of the All-Time Greats), director Mark Lamos (The End of the Day), playwright Ken Ludwig (Crazy For You, Lend Me A Tenor), director Tony Roberts (One of the All-Time Greats), five-time Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Susan Stroman (for Crazy for You, Showboat, Contact, and 2 awards for The Producers), and International Creative Management Vice-President Victoria Traube -- discuss how they got started and their common backgrounds as actors and lawyers, directing the work of living and dead playwrights, the development and journey for each of their shows, and the seamless collaboration the Crazy For You creative team achieved.

The production team of Crazy For You -- advertising representative Nancy Coyne, press representative Bill Evans, general manager Tyler Gatchell, casting director Julie Hughes, and producer Elizabeth Williams (three-time Tony winner for Crazy for You, The Real Thing and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest) -- discuss how the show was adapted from the 1930's Gershwin musical Girl Crazy, advertising as a new musical - not a revival, producing a television commercial, the financial cost of the large production, the role of the casting director, and the effect of positive critical reviews.