Jack O'Brien (#180) - December, 2007

Director Jack O'Brien (Tony Award winner for Hairspray and The Coast of Utopia) announces his new title as Artistic Director Emeritus at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre and charts his quarter-century tenure as Artistic Director from his hiring in 1981; reveals his original plans to be a musical comedy writer and star; describes his apprenticeship as a director in the APA Repertory Company under such mentors as Ellis Rabb and John Houseman; remembers his final acting appearance -- opposite Christopher Walken -- and how that set him firmly on the directing path for good; discusses his emergence as an acclaimed director of both musical comedies (including Hairspray and The Full Monty) and the plays of Tom Stoppard (including Hapgood and The Coast of Utopia); and shares the impetus behind the creation of the stage version of How The Grinch Stole Christmas.