The Producer's Perspective Podcast with Ken Davenport

Latest Episodes:

177 - Tom Viertel Feb 11, 2019

Show notes

Tom Viertel has produced a wide range of plays and musicals on and off Broadway, in London and on tour for over 30 years, including Hairspray, The Producers, A Little Night Music, The Encounter, Young Frankenstein, Little Shop of Horrors, The Weir, The Sound of Music, Smokey Joe’s Café, Driving Miss Daisy, and many others. He is a member of the Board of Governors, Government Relations, and Tony Management Committees of The Broadway League and a Trustee of the Equity-League Pension Funds. With his partners, Richard Frankel, Steve Baruch, and Marc Routh, he owns Feinstein’s/54 Below, Broadway’s Supper Club. He is the Executive Director of the Commercial Theater Institute, which provides a comprehensive curriculum in producing for Broadway.

We talked about how producing has changed over the years as well as:

What’s wrong with Off Broadway today? And can it be fixed?
How to learn from the shows that don’t work.
The most important skill a Broadway Producer must have.
The advantages of taking small investors and how he built his database.
What real estate and Broadway producing have in common.

This week's episode is brought to you by Broadway Roulette, the fun and easy way to see a Broadway show. You pick the day and eliminate up to 6 shows you've already seen or don't want to see. Then they send you to a surprise show that fits your criteria. Check it out at: www.broadwayroulette.com.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

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176 - Maury Yeston Feb 04, 2019

Show notes

Maury Yeston is a composer, lyricist, educator, and musicologist. He is known for initiating new Broadway musicals, and writing their music and lyrics, among them Nine in 1982, and Titanic in 1997, both of which won him Tony Awards for best musical and best score and each brought him nominations for a Grammy. He also won two Drama Desk Awards for Nine, and was nominated for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe for two of his new songs in the film version of Nine. He also wrote a significant amount of the music and most of the lyrics to the Tony-nominated musical Grand Hotel in 1989, which was Tony-nominated for best show, best score and another two Drama Desk Awards for music and lyrics and ran more than a thousand performances.

We talked about his struggle to “make it” along with . . .

Why he wrote Nine before he even had the rights to the film on which it was based.
How critics have changed, and how he believes they should write their reviews (this one is not only for the critics out there, but for anyone who has asked for advice on a show, or tweets, etc.)
The most important thing he learned in his decades with the Lehman Engel BMI Workshop, both as a student and as head of the program.
How bad reviews for an out of town tryout can actually be a blessing in disguise.
What he thinks is the biggest mistake writers make today.

This week’s episode is brought to you by The New York Beer Company, a popular Hell's Kitchen spot near Times Square featuring craft beer, cocktails, brunch, late-night & live music. Visit them at: www.nybeercompany.com.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

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175 - Ryan Scott Oliver Jan 28, 2019

Show notes

Ryan Scott Oliver is a musical theatre composer and lyricist. He is a 2011 Lucille Lortel Award Nominee and the recipient of both the 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant and the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater.He is also creator of the blog Crazytown. Oliver's work has been heard at the Writers Guild Awards, Off-Broadway in TheatreWorksUSA's We the People, and countless showcases. Along with actress Lindsay Mendez, he founded and currently runs Actor Therapy: a five-week training experience for young actors in NYC.

Ryan has built an amazing career of super cool projects from Darling to 35mm to Jasper In Deadland, all of which are performed all over the world. Recently, he passed over 1 million streams on Spotify. And he hasn’t yet made his Broadway debut. It’s coming, but how has he done what he has done in the meantime? We found out on this podcast. We also discussed:

Why he decided to go into musical theatre rather than join some of his peers in pop music.
How he found a balance between making money and pursuing the projects he’s really passionate about . . . and how you can too.
His pros and cons of grad school.
Why he founded the super successful Actor Training Program Actor Therapy with Broadway Star Lindsay Mendez.
The reasons why feedback from fellow writers is so important.

This week's episode is brought to you by Yum Yum Too, a Thai restaurant in Hell’s Kitchen, committed to friendly service and a hip atmosphere. It is the perfect location for a quick lunch, after work drink, or pre-theatre dinner. Visit them at: www.yumtoo.com.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

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174 – Alfred Uhry Jan 21, 2019

Show notes

Alfred Uhry is a playwright and screenwriter. He has received an Academy Award, two Tony Awards and the 1988 Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing for Driving Miss Daisy. Other works include Here's Where I Belong, The Robber Bridegroom, America's Sweetheart, The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Parade, Edgardo Mine, LoveMusik, Apples & Oranges, and Angel Reapers. He is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers.

There’s a bunch of mind-blowing moments in this podcast, including:

How he kept writing after a couple of big ol’ Broadway disasters that would have sent most people to law school.
Where he got the inspiration for Driving Miss Daisy, and the magic words he heard from his agent when she read it.
Musicals and plays . . . and the different skills needed for both.
His process of sitting down and writing, and how that has changed since he began.
Writing what you know . . . the pros and the cons.

This podcast is brought to you by Reproductions! They have been the leading headshot printer, nationwide, for 30 years. But that’s not all they do: Reproductions has a team dedicated to video services for demo reel editing, scene production when you need new footage, and musical theater filming as well for high-quality vocal performances with a professional accompianist. Their biggest difference is their turnaround time: videos are delivered within five days of shooting, and headshots as fast as the next day. So go ahead, place an order online at reproductions.com.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

173 - David Chase Jan 14, 2019

Show notes

David Chase is a Musical Director, Music Supervisor, and Dance Arranger for many broadway shows such as Evita, Anything Goes, Elf, Promises, The Little Mermaid, Cry-baby, Curtains, The Wedding Singer, The Pajama Game, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Kiss Me, Kate, Billy Elliot, Flower Drum Song, The Music Man, and many more. He also made music arrangements for the Boston Pops, The Kennedy Center Honors, and Radio City.

Listen to hear David talk about . . .

Why Composers don’t have to read or write music to compose a show.
What does a Dance Arranger actually do anyway?
How the modern musical has changed over the years and where he thinks it’s headed.
How he made a name for himself in a niche that no one knew much about.
One of the most common things that derails a show.

This week's episode is brought to you by The Other Palace, a theatre in London's Off West End. Visit them at: lwtheatres.co.uk/theatres/the-other-palace.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

172 - Sierra Boggess Jan 07, 2019

Show notes

Sierra Boggess is a theater actress and singer, best known for originating the role of Ariel in The Little Mermaid on Broadway and for her multiple appearances as Christine Daaé in The Phantom of the Opera. She also originated the role of Rebecca Steinberg in the 2015 Broadway production of It Shoulda Been You, and performed the role of school principal Rosalie Mullins in the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical adaptation of School of Rock. Other roles include Love Never Dies (Christine Daaé); Master Class (Sharon Graham); Les Misérables (Fantine); and Love, Loss and What I Wore (Various Characters).

If you haven’t seen Sierra perform, then, well, you’ve missed out on seeing someone do exactly what they are supposed to be doing with their life. Her way with a song, a lyric, or just an introduction is as entertaining, uplifting or as heartbreaking as she wants . . . and she makes it all seem so easy. It’s no wonder why Disney tapped her for The Little Mermaid. Hear Sierra talk about all that, as well as …

The big risk she took to get the role of Ariel and what put her over the edge in the room.
How she stays positive when the business disappoints her, through no fault of her own.
Her style of working with writers on new musicals and how that has changed over the years. (And she’s currently in Atlanta on a pre-Broadway tryout of Ever After!)
Why she created “Light Lessons” for artists and everyone. (Click here to check them out. I’ve got a set on my desk.)
Marketing for Performers: What’s important, necessary . . . and what isn’t.

This week’s podcast is sponsored by the Heartland Brewery which opened in New York in 1995, and back then, our city was not the hotbed of brewpubs, beer bars, and beer drinking it is today. Since then, Heartland Brewery has grown into the largest group of brewpubs in the region. They’ve got locations here, in Times Square, in Midtown West, and the Empire State Building.. Visit the Heartland Brewery at heartlandbrewery.com.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

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171 - Paula Wagner Dec 17, 2018

Show notes

Paula Wagner is a film producer and film executive who was, for a time, frequently described as "the most powerful woman in Hollywood". She has produced movies such as Mission: Impossible, The Others, The Last Samurai, Shattered Glass, Narc, Elizabethtown, and Ask the Dust, as well as Steven Spielberg's War of the Worlds. Wagner was a talent agent at Creative Artists Agency in Los Angeles, spending 15 years representing some of the top Hollywood actors. She develops films, theatre, and television through her production company Chestnut Ridge Productions. Her Broadway producing credits include Pretty Woman: The Musical, and The Heiress.

Paula Wagner has worn a lot of hats in the business on her way up the ladder, from Broadway actress to Powerhouse Agent to running a movie studio to producing movies. Could there be a better person to talk to about movies to musicals and vice-versa? Paula and I talked about that, of course, as well as . . .

The skills she learned as an agent that help her be a better Producer.
What Hollywood does well that we could learn from and what Hollywood can learn from us!
Eye-poppin’ idea that could save the movie industry (and it’s so simple).
Why Pretty Woman was made to be a musical and why it’s doing what she thought it would (gross over $1mm a week!).
Coming up in the entertainment industry as a female Producer and how that has changed. Or not.

Have you played the Be A Broadway Star board game? Be A Broadway Star the popular Broadway board game that puts YOU in the spotlight! Pick up yours at: www.beabroadwaystar.com.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

170 - Max Grossman Dec 09, 2018

Show notes

Max Grossman is an agent at Abrams Artists Agency, where he represents writers, composers, directors, and designers for theatre, opera, and television. He began his career in representation at ICM, and prior to moving to Abrams, was the Creative Executive at Scott Rudin Productions in charge of theatrical development. Prior to that, he worked closely with the head of new media and marketing at SCP Worldwide, Dave Checketts' sports and entertainment company.

We haven’t had many agents on this podcast (just this one so far – who happens to represent me!), partly because some of the agents I asked couldn’t get permission from their higher-ups (which says a lot, don’t you think?). But when I asked Max, he was happy to sit down and talk about what an agent does as well as . . .

How he finds new writers.
That awkward but important moment when he has to tell a client he doesn’t love something the client wrote.
The art of negotiating as an agent.
Why some theater writers succeed in transitioning to film & TV and others don’t… and a tip or two for you if this is something YOU want to do.
What he’d tell all Broadway Producers if he had them in a room at once.

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

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

169 - Rachel Chavkin Dec 02, 2018

Show notes

Rachel Chavkin is a stage director, best known for directing the musicals Natasha, Pierre, & The Great Comet of 1812 and Hadestown. She has directed and created many works for The TEAM, including award-winning and internationally touring plays, such as Roosevelvis, Mission Drift and Architecting. She has also directed shows such as Three Pianos, The Royale, and Lempicka.

Rachel and I talked about being an in-demand director as well as . . .

How performing 10-minute pieces helped her find her directorial voice.
The difference between teching a show on Broadway and teching a show anywhere else.
Why she’s ok with a messy rehearsal process and how it helps.
Why she doesn’t like to give advice.
Her reaction to the immersive movement and her part in it.

This episode of The Producer’s Perspective Podcast is sponsored by Daniel Rader Photo. Daniel Rader is available for production photos, events, and headshots.” Check him out/Reach out to him – www.danielraderphoto.com / @danielraderphoto on Instagram.

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

168 - Bobby Longbottom Nov 25, 2018

Show notes

Robert Longbottom is a director, choreographer and director, primarily for theatre and opera. He made his Broadway debut as a director and choreographer with the original Broadway production of the Tony Award-nominated musical, Side Show in 1997. Other Broadway works include the reconceived revival of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Flower Drum Song, The Scarlet Pimpernel, and the 2009 revival of Bye Bye Birdie. He conceived, directed and choreographed the musical, Pageant in 1991 Off-Broadway. Other works include: Disney’s On The Record, Carnival!, The Radio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular, Show Boat in concert at Carnegie Hall, Mister Roberts, and Hay Fever. He was the director and choreographer for the tour of Dreamgirls, which premiered at the Apollo Theater in 2009, prior to a US national tour.

We talked about the importance of entrepreneurship in this business as well as . . .

How to make a transition from one career to another inside the Broadway biz (which isn’t always the most supportive of that kind of change).
The origins of Side Show.
How he convinced people to give him a shot . . . when they really shouldn’t have (according to him)
The process of choreographing a great big, fat, opening number – what do you do first?
Why things take so long to develop in 2018 and what we can do about it?

The Book of Merman is a diva-driven journey featuring original songs and show-stopping ballads. Check it out at: broadway.com/shows/book-merman

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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