I WROTE THAT! Author Talk Series Returns With Jack O'Brien, October 28

Broadway fans rejoice! Acclaimed director Jack O'Brien will be at the Palace Theater for a very special engagement on Saturday, October 28th at 1:00 pm. He is the Tony Award-winning Director of Hairspray 2003, Tony Award-winning Director of Henry IV 2004, Tony Award-winning Director of the Coast of Utopia 2007, Director of the Tony Nominated Musical Shucked 2023, and the Winner of Five Drama Desk Awards.

Tickets to this engagement are offered on a first come, first served basis and seating is limited. This event is made possible through the ongoing support of Rourke Insurance Agency, Timothy W. & Mary Ellen Rourke, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UConn Waterbury.

 

From upbeat musicals, dramatic adaptations of award-winning novels, or iconic Broadway classics, the Palace Theater's 2023-2024 season is full of amazing titles. We are celebrating Broadway and Jack O'Brien! O'Brien has worked his magic and will be sending one lucky attendee to Broadway to see his latest Tony nominated show, Shucked!

 

Frank Rizzo, entertainment writer & theater critic for Variety, will lead the conversation with O'Brien in the intimate setting of the Palace Theater's Poli Club. Patrons will get the behind-the-scenes stories and memories of people, productions, and problems surmounted during his 50-year career that he chronicled in his latest book, Jack in the Box.

In Jack in the Box, O'Brien's follow-up to his memoir, Jack Be Nimble, the director collects stories from the many productions he has worked on; the great talents he encountered and collaborated with, including Tom Stoppard, Mike Nichols, Jerry Lewis, Marsha Mason, and many others; and the choices that he made, on the stage and off, that have come to define his career. With humor, warmth, and contagious excitement, O'Brien takes his readers by the shoulder, pulls them in, and tells them how to become a director — or, at the very least, relates an unfailingly honest story of how he became one.

Tickets to this event are $20. Tickets may be purchased at the Palace Theater Box Office: 203-346-2000 or palacetheaterct.org.

Jack O'Brien was born in 1939 and is an American director, writer, and lyricist, who served as the artistic director of The Old Globe Theatre in San Diego from 1982 to 2007. He has won three Tony Awards and been nominated for eight more - including the hilarious 2023 production, Shucked - and he has won five Drama Desk Awards. O'Brien also directed the 2016-2017 Sound of Music Tour at the Palace Theater.

“I Wrote That” is a new series presented by the Palace Theater. It is devoted to books and the authors who write them, offering audiences the opportunity to engage with authors and ask questions in a less formal setting.

Located in Downtown Waterbury, Connecticut, the Palace Theater is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit performing arts center with a mission “to preserve and operate the historic Palace Theater as a performing arts center and community gathering place that provides a focal point of cultural activity and educational outreach for diverse audiences.”

The Palace Theater gratefully acknowledges the ongoing support by Rourke Insurance Agency, Timothy W. & Mary Ellen Rourke, and Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at UConn Waterbury.