EPISODE · Oct 19, 2009 · 1H 3M
Emanuel Azenberg (#239) - October, 2009
from ATW - Downstage Center · host American Theatre Wing
Producer Emanuel Azenberg talks about the upcoming repertory production of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound", including the choice of David Cromer as director, whether the plays are being revised for the tandem run, and why he thinks they'll make audiences think of these plays -- and Neil Simon himself -- in a whole new way. He also discusses how he began his career as part of a group of softball and poker playing buddies that included Robert Redford, James and William Goldman, and on occasion Carl Reiner; how he came to be Neil Simon's exclusive producer on every play since 1972's "The Sunshine Boys"; how he's handled the challenge of dealing with shows that haven't succeeded, including "Fools", "Division Street" and "Einstein and the Polar Bear"; why he has dared to produce the supposedly cursed "Scottish Play" on Broadway not just once, but twice; what he sought to impart to his students at Yale and later Duke University about theatre over some 25 years and how he feels that students have changed over that time; shows he's done for love and shows he's done for money; what has drawn him to be involved in the upcoming revival of "Ragtime"; and why he thinks the much-admired "Side Show" didn't succeed on Broadway, and possibly never will. Original air date - October 19, 2009.
What this episode covers
Producer Emanuel Azenberg talks about the upcoming repertory production of "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and "Broadway Bound", including the choice of David Cromer as director, whether the plays are being revised for the tandem run, and why he thinks they'll make audiences think of these plays -- and Neil Simon himself -- in a whole new way. He also discusses how he began his career as part of a group of softball and poker playing buddies that included Robert Redford, James and William Goldman, and on occasion Carl Reiner; how he came to be Neil Simon's exclusive producer on every play since 1972's "The Sunshine Boys"; how he's handled the challenge of dealing with shows that haven't succeeded, including "Fools", "Division Street" and "Einstein and the Polar Bear"; why he has dared to produce the supposedly cursed "Scottish Play" on Broadway not just once, but twice; what he sought to impart to his students at Yale and later Duke University about theatre over some 25 years and how he feels that students have changed over that time; shows he's done for love and shows he's done for money; what has drawn him to be involved in the upcoming revival of "Ragtime"; and why he thinks the much-admired "Side Show" didn't succeed on Broadway, and possibly never will. Original air date - October 19, 2009.
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Emanuel Azenberg (#239) - October, 2009
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