Interview: Wendy Orshan & Jeffrey M. Wilson Unpack Their 30 Years of Broadway Shows

Every Broadway show needs general management and Wendy Orshan and Jeffrey M. Wilson are here to provide. The pair heads 101 Productions, Ltd.- a theatrical General Management firm formed in 1994.

In this second part of our in-depth conversation (read Part 1), Jeffrey and Wendy look back on their over three decade career on Broadway and shares stories about some of their favorite shows. 

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Ok, this is going to be the lightning round, where I’m going to throw out some (but not all, or we’d be here for a month) of your many iconic show titles, just to hear what memory or moment first comes to mind. Let’s start with one of my favorites – Spamalot in 2005.

Wendy O.: Oh, how fantastic.

Jeffrey W.: Just so much fun.

Wendy O.: So much fun. The most exciting thing ever. Mike Nichols, Eric Idle, that cast. It was just – it was a joy and a thrill from beginning to the end. And, it was a daily education in comedy. 

Jeffrey W.: And I think we knew that when we were out of town in Chicago. 

Wendy O.: Yeah, immediately.

Jeffrey W.: A big hit. 

So, laughing from day one to –

Wendy O.: And also, just really thrilling because when you have talent of that caliber, Hank Azaria, David Hyde Pierce, and Tim Curry, you just watch and you're in awe. And you're with legendary Mike Nichols and Eric Idle. And it was exciting with Bill Haber and Bob Boyett, who we worked with so much. It seamlessly came together quickly.

Jeffrey W.: We're making it sound so easy because it wasn't. But also, there were a lot of changes, good changes, out of town. Sometimes you just forget how important that process is. And, Mike Nichols was so smart about that process and about the changes.

Wendy O.: I think, too, watching Mike and Eric give a note session was an education that no one could ever, ever have otherwise. Talking about what makes something funny, the truth in something. Watching them talk to all of us, Sara had this incredible song that got cut in Chicago, and Mike would talk to all of us about the bigger picture. He used to call it “killing your babies”. You have to kill the thing you love the most for the bigger picture. We were so, so very lucky. It was such a big, immediate hit.

It certainly was – another show beloved by the theatre community is of course Curtains.

Wendy O.: Oh. Roger and Roger and David Hyde Pierce and Deb Monk, it was – that song “Show People” is like an anthem of our industry. Yeah, it was beautiful. Was it at the Martin Beck at the time?

Jeffrey W.: Yes.

Wendy O.: And we have a long history with Scott Ellis, so that was just a thrill with that group of people. Jeff, is that where I phrased them as the Rogers? Or was that on Kiss Me, Kate?

Jeffrey W.: That was on Kiss Me, Kate. Because it was mostly Roger and Daryl on Curtains. That cast was just – that was a dream cast. Looking back, every single one of them was perfectly cast.

Wendy O.: Yeah, cast in their roles. And Rupert was so funny about mystery and the whodunit and that whole world, which doesn't happen a lot in our industry. Because once 10,000 people see it and talk about it, what's the end? But David and Deb were incredible company leaders. And Jeff and I live on the Upper West Side, and we ran into Deb at Cafe Eighty-Two, was it?

Jeffrey W.: Yeah. I can't imagine where you're going with this story, but yes. 

Wendy O.: She came over to our table. and she said, "I've never been in something running. I want to plan a vacation."

Jeffrey W.: Oh, yeah. "How do I take a vacation? I've never been in a show that ran long enough for me to take a vacation."

Wendy O.: Isn't that so sweet? Like someone as talented as her had never been in something going past a year.

Jeffrey W.: Also, if you haven't read David Loud's book.

I have, it’s fantastic… 

Jeffrey W.: When he talks about conducting the opening of Curtains without the score, it's just – it's amazing.

Wendy O.: Yeah.

Yeah. You just mentioned quite possibly my favorite revival of Kiss Me, Kate. 

Jeffrey W.: Oh, my God.

Wendy O.: Oh, my God.

Jeffrey W.: That was one of our early, early-ish shows. And that was with “the Rogers.” 

Wendy O.: Yeah.

Jeffrey W.: And, that was also an amazing cast.

Wendy O.: They took us to lunch at Orso. We had never, ever been taken to Orso. And they sat us down and said – because we knew Roger Horchow from Crazy for You when Tyler passed away, and we took it over. And they said, "We're going to offer you this big musical. It's going to change your career because people are going to feel like you're real. We're not going to pay you how we would pay Marvin Krauss. You're not going to get any of the things we would give Marvin Krauss, but it'll change your lives." And we're like, "Okay, where do we sign?" Marvin Krauss was legendary in our industry. But Stokes and Marin were amazing. It brought such joy. Was that 9/11?

Jeffrey W.: Well, the show was running during 9/11.

Wendy O.: The show was running during 9/11.

Jeffrey W.: We were in our second cast already by then. 

Wendy O.: I think we were one of the first shows when the League and the Mayor wanted Broadway to come back and perform, and for people not to be scared. And that performance, you were just sobbing because our industry was back.

Jeffrey W.: We still struggled.

Wendy O.: We still struggled, but that was special.

Jeffrey W.: That was just an amazing show. And, getting back to what she just said, we were at the post-opening ad meeting, and the reviews had come out. The show was a big hit. The reviews were all raves and it was one of those celebratory ad meetings. And after the meeting, the Rogers pulled us aside and gave us a raise. We didn't ask for it. They just gave it to us.

Wendy O.: That's right. And we were just at Paul Libin's memorial. And that theater contract for Kiss Me, Kate was one of the first big negotiations we ever had because our office was on the other side. Rocco (Landesman) gave us our first office. We were in this tiny little space, and we went into Paul Libin's office and just sat down with a long list of changes we wanted in the contract, you know, to do our job. He was like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah," all the way through, but didn’t agree to any of it. And then, something meaningless like "Can we have an extra sign in the lobby?" He was like, "I'll give you that one thing." What an icon. And that was –

Jeffrey W.: There should be a book about him.

Radio Golf.

Jeffrey W.: That was a great production. Working on any August Wilson play is always –

Wendy O.: Special.

Jeffrey W.: Special and enlightening, yeah.

Wendy O.: It didn't resonate from a consumer point of view, but it was one of those times – like Caroline, or Change, the original, where the entire industry came together because he was so meaningful of a playwright. And, you just had to all band together to keep it going. I’m pretty sure that was the first time we worked with Kenny Leon as director, who of course we worked  with on Othello last year.

Which was great, and speaking of people coming back, Tom Hanks is now back on the boards, and you worked with him on Lucky Guy. 

Wendy O.: God, you are picking – some of our favorites! Is this like my algorithm or something? 

Jeffrey W.: Well, first of all, Tom Hanks is just a god. I mean, he really is just – he's the most perfect human being. He really is. And, he just wanted to be one of the cast, you know? He came in with no airs and no demands. He just wanted to be part of the cast, and they all felt that energy from him. And then just that tiny bit of time that we got to work with Nora (Ephron) before she passed was just also amazing. And then, of course, when she died, everybody knew we had to make this play happen. For her and for her memory and for everything. 

Wendy O.: I had breakfast yesterday with Colin Callender, so it's so interesting you said Lucky Guy too. And we were talking about that moment and how startling it was that no one knew that she was sick. But as you replay the conversations with her and the last moment we saw her, we were trying to flag a cab for her. She was getting a cab by herself, and we were leaving an ad meeting. And we were like, "No, no, no. Let us help you. Let us help you." And she's like, "No, no, no. You worry about my play."

Jeffrey W.: She had just had, in her words, “the best tuna sandwich she had ever had.” 

Wendy O.: Mike Nichols used to talk about that a lot with her, how legendary she was about food. The opening night of Lucky Guy, watching all those people in the audience thinking about her, the pain that it brought, she was such a center of so many people's lives. As a manager, you always feel bad when your show doesn't get recognized. I am not at all objective. I think all of our shows are great. Jeff tends to be more objective. But Tom not winning the Tony that year was painful in a different way than always is for me because I wanted him to have that moment for Nora. Because we recognize, we're lucky, we work with a lot of really big stars. They make an enormous sacrifice. When they make a movie, if people don't like the movies, they just go away and they make another movie. But here, eight times a week, you go out there. And you're vulnerable and you're raw. And you bare your soul. So, that was hard. That was a hard night.

Hedwig, which was such a hit–

Jeffrey W.: I'm wondering if you're just looking at the wall of posters.

Yeah, I'm just reading your wall one at a time... 

Wendy O.: The wall's not current. 

Jeffrey W.: Everything he's mentioned almost is on this wall. Hedwig was amazing.

Wendy O.: Amazing. One of the best experiences.

Jeffrey W.: It was amazing.

Wendy O.: Yeah. David Binder had tried for, I think, 12 years to bring it to Broadway. It was a really big opportunity for him. We went to Bob Wankel's office to get a theater. We spread out all these pictures on a big conference room table to educate him on what Hedwig was. And, he gave us literally the most perfect building we ever, ever could have had. The Belasco was just perfect. It really helped put The Belasco on the map, in many ways, to be a success. 

Jeffrey W.: People had sort of written that theater off. 

Wendy O.: But it was so perfect for us…

Jeffrey W.: And then it became a destination for people. Working with the original creators, working with John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask and Mike, the hair and wig designer, Mike Potter, was just so f-ing extraordinary. But yet, to take, then, Michael Mayer's vision and turn the whole show on its side, and with Neil Patrick Harris's input, too, it was just amazing to watch that teamwork.

Wendy O.: Yeah. It was one of those shows that you could watch time and time and time again. We saw that show a lot. And then, it was exciting to recast it and to have a similar, but totally different take. I think, what did we do? Like, four?

Jeffrey W.: We had five Hedwigs after Neil Patrick Harris.

Wendy O.: Yeah.

Yeah. I think I saw four of the five, and each of them really brought themselves to the part…

Wendy O.: Absolutely, and it's fun working with Neil now (on ART). We've always stayed in touch. It's just so nice to have him back in a space with us again… 

Where he’s with James Corden, another alumni from History Boys. 

Jeffrey W.: Oh, another one. These are all our favorites.

And, it's not on that wall.

Wendy O.: Yeah, because it's right behind you.

Jeffrey W.: It was magical, because bringing over that whole company, which was also something that I don't know if we had done before. And back then, it wasn't easy. It's much easier today with Actors' Equity to bring artists from the UK and other places here. But back then, it wasn't easy at all. And just to have that whole company come over here. Every one of them was so happy to be here and be on Broadway and be doing this play. And some of them were youngish kids. All the boys.

Wendy O.: Russell Tovey and Dominic Cooper, they've all gone on to such great careers. 

Jeffrey W.: And then to have the older actors who took them all under their wing, too. Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour. It was amazing.

Wendy O.: It was a part of the whole sweep of Bill Haber and Bob Boyett, which we had been instrumental in putting the two of them together. When they made that arrangement with the National, they just truly trusted Nick Hytner and Nick Starr in what should come over or not. This just swept – it swept New York. James Corden talks about it when we see him over at Art that they were so embraced by New York City, that cast. He often talks about life before it and life after it. It just really changed so many of their lives. And they were so funny. It's a sweet – such a heartwarming, amazing story. Such incredible writing. He's such an incredible writer. 

Jeffrey W.: Also, we had transferred quite a number of shows from the West End or from the National that we didn't bring the cast over. But with this play it only made sense if you could have that company. They had such incredible collective charisma that it just wouldn't have made sense to do it any other way. 

Wendy O.: Yeah. That was one of those first experiences of every award it won as a play, which was such a big stamp in our industry.

Well, we'll move to this wall then for a show that certainly won a number of awards - Dear Evan Hansen.

Wendy O.: What does one even say? It was a lesson in so many things. We had met Stacey Mindich. She was co-producer on some of the shows we had done. And we had one of those conversations of, "I want to lead produce something." Bless her, she went to Colony Records and heard their music and tracked them down. We met in her apartment. I heard her talk to them about, "If you could do anything, what would you want to do?" This story about something that happened and Benj’s school. So, we were very lucky. We were executive producers, so we were involved really in everything. And it changed so, along the way. Michael Greif made so many changes in it.  Weeally got a first-hand look at the evolution of creating a musical. And he is so extraordinary in shaping all that. We read novel after novel and play after play to try to find the writer. Steven Levenson had just done something at Roundabout. Stacey had seen it and put them together. Whent he show became a hit, it gave us a different level of security. We had never had that security since really Spamalot in this office where you had four or five companies running at the same time.

Jeffrey W.: But also, it was a long, long process getting there. It was eight years. And going back to when we first met them in Stacey's living room, it was just these two young kids fresh out of college, and they didn't have two pennies to rub together between them. This was the most incredible opportunity for them. We had to rent them a piano and a studio to work in because they didn't have anything. As she said, it was just the two of them. They didn't know anything about finding a writer or a director or anything. And then, it really just was the way it came together and evolved. The original working title of it was called Academy of Friends.

Yeah, I remember that, and it went through different story drafts through the workshops…

Jeffrey W.: And it was a way different story, even from what it ended up being as Dear Evan Hansen.

Wendy O.: We were really lucky to be a part of it. Stacey was a great leader and included us in so much. It's funny that you ask about all these shows because watching a talent like Ben Platt or a talent like Neil Patrick Harris or James Corden, and being that lucky to have access to that person here and then access here, you all of a sudden just realize what that lightning in a bottle is. It's what Ben did in that show. Ben was the only Evan we ever had from the first reading on. Bob Wankel gave us The Belasco, and we were doing a tour of The Belasco. Four or five days later, Shuffle Along announced that it was going to close. I think that took all of us by surprise in the industry. Because given who was involved, and that was obviously in the Music Box. I remember I had a conversation with Stacey and I said, "As inappropriate as it is to hover somebody else's show, Bob never would have thought to back that theater up that soon." We should see if we can move. And because the show was selling that strong, Bob moved us from The Belasco to the Music Box. I think that being on that block changes everything for a show. The perception, you are deemed, even though all the theaters are beautiful, there's something about being right there that makes everybody involved in the show feel like they've arrived. Moving us and taking that chance on moving us, is I think the thing that made us do a right pivot.

And speaking of lightning in a bottle, Bring in 'da Noise, Bring in 'da Funk.

Wendy O.: It's so funny you say that. Today is 30 years.

Literally, today? 

Jeffrey W.: Is it really?

Wendy O.: Yes, I just was talking with someone about it being 30 years ago, on Broadway.

Total accident. 

Jeffrey W.: Well, we took over that show –

Wendy O.: It had moved.

Jeffrey W.: Because it was originally being managed by Joey Parnes, who was at The Public Theater at the time. And so, it opened uptown and we became involved at some point after that. I remember going to the opening and being just so excited. But somewhere along the way, I don't remember what happened, but Joey called us and said, "Would you guys take over managing the show?"

Wendy O.: Were we interim then?

Jeffrey W.: No, we had already left The Public.

Wendy O.: Right. We had been the interim general managers. We got along great with Michael Hurst and George Wolfe. Then, Joey came in and it really became a big hit. It struggled in the beginning, but then it really, really took off. That's when Joey said to us, "Will you manage it?" And every night there was a conversation about the heat. Every night. Because of tap dancers and it needing to be warm, but the audience wasn't prepared for that. We had signs put up in the lobby. There's one over Jeff's desk that's like, "For the safety of the dancers, it's really warm." or something like that. But that was The Ambassador.

Jeffrey W.: Yeah.

Wendy O.: Yes, Savion is so brilliantly talented. It was so interesting how, after the opening, that show transferred audiences, and it became the thing New Yorkers wanted to see. But, it took a real period of time.

How about For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide?

Wendy O.: That was a recent special project.

Jeffrey W.: Yeah. Camille.

Wendy O.: I think the memory of that show for me, beyond the surprise of the Tony nominations, which is always validation for everybody, was working with someone like Nelle Nugent as a lead producer who her entire life was this industry. She could read a groundplan because she had been a stage manager. She could look at a shop order and talk to you about, "You have too many lights on this pipe." It's old school. It's just absolute old school. And she's fearless about these things. It was heartbreaking that we just could never sell enough tickets. We could just never sell enough tickets. And there was conversations about the title. So, for a period of time, you would just call it, For Colored Girls. But, there were all these different kinds of theories. Was the direct mail too this? Was the advertising too that? Was the title too this? But she just fell in love with it when she saw it down at The Public. And obviously, Camille is a huge talent. It's exploded since that time period. I think that show really made people look at her in a different way. 

Yeah, I think it'll be seminal, and something that will continue to have a life, and speaking of seminal, Topdog/Underdog.

Wendy O.: That was exciting when George was down there with Don Cheadle and Mos Def. 

Jeffrey W.: And Jeffrey Wright when we transferred it.

Wendy O.: It was in The Ambassador Theater. Jeffrey is just – we knew him from Noise Funk. Jeffrey is just such an incredible talent. The day Suzy-Lori Parks won the Pulitzer for it, I called Gerry Schoenfeld and Phil Smith. I said, "We're over at the theater. This is a really big-deal moment. You should come over and congratulate them." Because back then, nobody wanted that building. This big black limo pulls up and the two of them come out here and congratulate her and congratulate George Wolfe. Her life was never the same since then. It was strange seeing the revival. It's strange when you go to see revivals of the show that you worked on the original.

That must be odd given how much time you spent in the room for the original productions and know the backstory of every choice… 

Wendy O.: We adore Kenny, but it was an unusual experience to watch it in a whole different kind of setting from what we had done. 

Two very funny ones, I think, are next on my list. Moon over Buffalo.

Jeffrey W.: We were downtown at an event. I don't remember what the event was. But Nancy Coyne of Serino Coyne had come up with this idea of the logo for the show. It was just going to be the image of a moon over a buffalo. And so, we had these pins that just had the moon and the buffalo. We got in a taxi cab. The taxi driver goes, "What's the banana for?" It's a moon. This is a moon, and this is a buffalo. Of course, the show was starring Carol Burnett and that was always the leading thing. It's a play starring Carol Burnett. But the taxi driver goes, "Oh yeah, Philip Bosco's in that play." He goes, "My kid knows him." We were like, "What?" And it turns out that his kid was one of the little urchins that climbs up on the stage on An Inspector Calls in the rain. There was that whole rain scene. So, his kid was in An Inspector Calls with Philip Bosco. But we just thought that was so funny. "What's the banana for?" So, I started calling the play Banana Over Bison. People didn't appreciate it. 

Wendy O.: D.A. Pennebaker was making a documentary, which is a really horrifying thing for people in theater.

Jeffrey W.: Well, you must have seen the documentary.

It's been a while, but yeah….

Jeffrey W.: It's called Moon Over Broadway.

Wendy O.: And that scene where Rocco Landesman, who's just fearless, is like, "Look, it's not funny enough. We should just hire a joke writer." I'm like, "Oh my God." All these people are now going to see that Rocco never thought it was funny. We had that conversation so many times. I mean, he's Ken Ludwig. He's funny. But something just didn't work. I always felt bad for Carol because, once again, as a star, she was like “America's Funniest Lady.” She was really, really exposed. And then, we brought in Robert Goulet, who Jeff had toured the U.S. on a couple of shows. 

Wendy O.: All the audience wanted him to do was sing.

Jeffrey W.: Which wasn't part of the character. 

Wendy O.: I was like, "Can't he just sing at the curtain call? Can't we just add in a mega-mix to make them happy?" But, yeah. It was fine going out of town. We were big, big news in Boston. But, boy, when we came in, we were not. 

And another one that I loved, the Noises Off revival with Patti LuPone and Peter Gallagher.

Wendy O.: How perfect was that cast?

Jeffrey W.: Talk about 9/11. We started rehearsal. Our first day of rehearsal was 9/11.

Wendy O.: Yes. Right. We were in the rehearsal room. 

Jeffrey W.: And we were rehearsing downtown at a rehearsal studio. Not below 14th Street, but pretty close. We were in Chelsea somewhere.

Wendy O.: Yeah. It was Sonia Friedman's first big show here. She had come over from London. We were the managers. She was trapped here because there were no flights going out. We were just sitting in the room going, "Okay, but the play is really funny, and everything is heartbreaking. What do we really do here?" But that casting – it's a brilliant play. He's such a brilliant, brilliant writer. But when you get that cast right, that play can do no wrong. I heard that Anna Shapiro's version of it at The Geffen was really, really wonderful. At the Brooks, that was just – night after night, people were literally peeing their pants.

Jeffrey W.: It was so much fun. Remember Katie Finneran? Losing a contact. Trying to find her way down the stairs. It was just – it was hilarious.

Wendy O.: Yeah. It was an absolute joy.

Jeffrey W.: And you had some real old-school actors like Richard Easton in that play. Patti and Peter Gallagher were both just great troopers.

Wendy O.: Yeah, that was wonderful. That was Sonia – was that Elizabeth and Anita, maybe? It was the three of them. But it was amazing to have – it felt like you were bringing people so much joy when they were ready to come back to joy.

That was everything on my list. Is there anything I haven't asked about? 

Wendy O.: One thing I do think about a lot is Red, when Red came around.

Jeffrey W.: Oh, yeah.

Wendy O.: And I think the reason why is we spend so much time now about all this analysis of, "Is this a good idea to do?" People say to us, "Show me on a piece of paper where I get my money back." Oh, on a piece of paper, this looked all like the right creative team. But, I think the advance was like $300,000 at our first preview. It was so hard to explain it. It was so hard to know. Probably after a week of previews, it just took off. It was the old-fashioned word of mouth.

Jeffrey W.: Word of mouth solved that thing.

Wendy O.: Arielle Tepper never wavered from believing it was a great idea, nor did Michael Grandage and James Bierman. John Logan stood underneath the under-sling and said, "Take a picture of this for me. This is like my dream come true." That cast was so amazing. I mean, Eddie obviously exploded. But it was such a good lesson in trust your gut sometimes. You believe it's good, you believe it's worthy, it's going to be scary. But at some moment in time, if it's really good, the audience is going to know it's really good. That was one of our favorites. 

Jeffrey W.: Biggest disappointment on that one was Alfred Molina not winning the Tony. It was a real shame because he really deserved it.

He was so good in that…. 

Wendy O.: Yeah. And he's an incredible company leader. We did a reading with him probably a year ago. You look at him, and you just think like, "Nope, you were robbed that year."

Yeah. One of the sweetest, most genuine human beings as well. 

Wendy O.: We've had a pretty good career.

Jeffrey W.: We've done okay. 

Your backs have given out, but nothing else. That's it.

Wendy O.: Nothing else. Our enthusiasm maintains.

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