'Working in Theatre' to Feature 'Broadway Producers' 6/1

The newest edition of the American Theatre Wing's "Working in the Theatre" will feature "Broadway Producers" on CUNY TV on Sunday, June 1 at 5 p.m. The program will repeat on Friday, June 6 at 9 a.m., 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, June 7 at 11 a.m.  The program becomes available as streaming video and podcast from www.americantheatrewing.org, as well as iTunes, beginning Wednesday afternoon, June 4.

What is the role of a producer? That was the question that started the discussion among four of Broadway's top producers – Roger Berlind, Margo Lion, Jeffrey Richards and Jeffrey Seller – as the conversation turned to whether they produce for profit or passion and how they balance between the two; what the shows they produce reveal about themselves; what the opportunities are for new producers; the increased role the internet and other new media plays in theatre today; the escalating cost of producing a show on Broadway today; and what they feel are the major issues facing theatre producers as they look to the future.

Since 1980, Roger Berlind has produced such shows as: Amadeus, Sophisticated Ladies, Nine, All's Well That Ends Well, The Rink, The Real Thing, Joe Egg, Long Day's Journey into Night, Ain't Misbehavin', Jerome Robbins' Broadway, City of Angels, Lettice and Lovage, Death and the Maiden, Guys and Dolls, Hamlet, Passion, Indiscretions, Skylight, Steel Pier, The Life, The Judas Kiss, A View from the Bridge, The Blue Room, Amy's View, Closer, The Ride Down Mount Morgan, The Wild Party, Copenhagen, Kiss Me Kate, Proof , Medea, Anna In The Tropics, Wonderful Town , Caroline, Or Change, Doubt, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Well, Faith Healer, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, The History Boys,  and The Vertical Hour.  Most recently, Berlind has produced Curtains, The Year of Magical Thinking, Deuce, Is he Dead?, Rock 'n' Roll and Gypsy. 60 of Berlind's productions have won Tony Awards, including 14 for best production in its category.

Margo Lion has produced such Broadway shows as: Radio Golf, The Wedding Singer, Caroline or Change, Hairspray, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, The Crucible, Triumph of Love, Seven Guitars, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and Perestroika, Jelly's Last Jam, and I Hate Hamlet. Off-Broadway credits include: Indoor/Outdoor, Mnemonic, The Cryptogram, Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, The Garden of Earthly Delights, How I Got That Story, and George C. Wolfe's Harlem Song at the Apollo Theater. Lion is an adjunct professor and a member of the Dean's Council at the NYU-Tisch School of the Arts. She is also on the Board of Directors of the Labyrinth Theatre, Publicolor, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts. Her productions have garnered 20 Tony Awards (including the 2003 Tony for Best Musical), 4 Olivier Awards (including 2007 Olivier for Best Musical) and 1 Pulitzer Prize.

Jeffrey Richards has produced such Broadway shows as: Spring Awakening, Talk Radio; Radio Golf, The Pajama Game, Glengarry Glen Ross, The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, Enchanted April, A Thousand Clowns and Gore Vidal's The Best Man. Recent shows produced by Richards include: Harold Pinter's The Homecoming starring Ian McShane, Raúl Esparza, Eve Best and Michael McKean and directed by Daniel Sullivan and David Mamet's November starring Nathan Lane and Laurie Metcalf and directed by Joe Mantello.

Jeffrey Seller is the winner of two Tony Awards for Best Musical. His productions include Rent, Avenue Q, De La Guarda, Baz Luhrmann's production of Puccini's La Boheme, High Fidelity and most recently, In The Heights.

The program is moderaTed Gordon Cox, reporter from Variety.

The ATW "Working in the Theatre" panels bring together theatre's best-known performers, producers, playwrights, directors, choreographers, composers, agents and others for peer-to-peer conversation about the art, the craft and the business of theatre.

CUNY TV is a cable channel serving the five boroughs of New York City with educational, cultural and public affairs programs. As part of The City University of New York, CUNY TV operates as a non-commercial station. Its mission is to extend the academic and intellectual richness of the University beyond the campuses and to offer New York City residents a haven for life long learning experiences through television.

The American Theatre Wing is best known as the creator of the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards®, which it presents annually with The Broadway League.  The Wing's other activities, dedicated to recognizing excellence and supporting education in theatre, include "Working in the Theatre," now in its 29th year of telecasts on CUNY TV in New York and on other national cable outlets; "Downstage Center," an hour-long weekly interview program on XM Satellite Radio; "Guides to Careers in the Theatre," a video series developed for schools and libraries; a grants and scholarship program to New York City schools and not-for-profit theatre companies, which has awarded more than $2.5 million since its inception; the Theatre Intern Group, a career development program for young professionals; and SpringboardNYC, a two-week college-to-career boot camp for young performers moving to NYC.  Visitors to www.americantheatrewing.org can view or download an archive of "Working in the Theatre" and the career guides and listen to "Downstage Center", all as free, on-demand streaming audio and podcast. Sondra Gilman is Chairman of the Board of the American Theatre Wing; Doug Leeds is President of the Board and Howard Sherman is Executive Director.

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