The Producer's Perspective Podcast with Ken Davenport

In this episode, we celebrated the end of a decade and the end of the 2019 season of The Producer's Perspective Podcast with inspirational and funny quotes from previous guests! Thank you to Julie Halston, Mark Sendroff, Stephanie Lee, Susan Blackwell, Adam Gwon, Anthony Veneziale, Ali Stroker, Mara Isaacs, Charlotte Wilcox, Ken Cerniglia, Glen Kelly, and Alan Cumming for joining me on the podcast this season! Thanks, Terry Knickerbocker, for supporting this episode. Terry Knickerbocker Studio offers a two-year acting conservatory, workshops, studio rentals, one-on-one coaching, beginner acting classes, and the best actor training in New York. For more information, visit terryknickerbockerstudio.com.  The final #SongWriterOfTheWeek for the 2019 season is . . . Kerrigan-Lowdermilk! And my good friend and Godspell company member, Lindsay Mendez is singing their song called Hand in Hand from their immersive house party musical THE BAD YEARS. If you like what you hear and want to learn more, check out www.kerri

Alan Cumming is a Scottish-American actor, comedian, singer, writer, producer, director, and activist who has appeared in numerous films, television shows, and plays/musicals. His London stage appearances include Hamlet, the Maniac in Accidental Death of an Anarchist (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in Bent, and the National Theatre of Scotland's The Bacchae. On Broadway, he has appeared in The Threepenny Opera, as the master of ceremonies in Cabaret (for which he won a Tony Award), Design for Living and a one-man adaptation of Macbeth. His best-known film roles include his performances in Emma, GoldenEye, the Spy Kids trilogy, Son of the Mask, and X2. Cumming also introduces Masterpiece Mystery! for PBS and appeared on The Good Wife, for which he has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Golden Globe Awards and a Satellite Award. A filming of his Las Vegas cabaret show, Alan Cumming Sings Sappy Songs, aired on PBS stations in November 2016. Alan

Glen Kelly is a music arranger (especially of dance music) and composer. He is best known for his musical theatre arrangements for Broadway shows including Beauty and Beast, The Producers, Young Frankenstein, Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone, The Book of Mormon, and Aladdin. This week’s #SongWriterOfTheWeek is Angela Sclafani ! Today we’re playing a song called "I'll Save You the Waltz" and it is from Angela’s musical The Other Side of Paradise. If you like what you hear and want to learn more, check out www.angelasclafani.com or @angelasclafani on instagram.  This episode is brought to you by Terry Knickerbocker Studio. Terry Knickerbocker Studio offers a two year acting conservatory, workshops, studio rentals, one-on-one coaching, beginner acting classes, and the best actor training in New York, period. For more information, visit terryknickerbockerstudio.com.  This episode was edited by Stanley Wiercinski. Keep up with me @KenDavenportBway on Instagram.

Ken Cerniglia is a veteran dramaturg, writer, and creative executive. He dramaturged the innovative Broadway hits Hadestown (8 Tony Awards, including Best Musical) and Peter and the Starcatcher (5 Tony Awards). As resident dramaturg and literary manager for Disney Theatrical Productions for 16 years, he developed over 70 titles for Broadway, touring, international, and licensed productions, including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Freaky Friday, Aladdin, Newsies, The Little Mermaid, High School Musical, and Tarzan. He recently conceived and developed Marvel spotlight, a collection of one-act plays with teenage superhero protagonists who tackle real-world problems in a diverse society. Other dramaturgy includes the chamber opera Blood Moon (PROTOTYPE 2020); the new musical Bridges (Berkeley Playhouse); Passion Trilogy (Fisher Ensemble/Loyola Marymount University); and Bud, Not Buddy, The Gift of Nothing, The Cricket in Times Square, and OLIVERio: A Twist on Dickens (Kennedy Center). This week’s #SongWriterOfTh

Charlotte Wilcox, Broadway General Manager, started her company in 1990 and has managed over 40 musicals and one play, CYRANO starring Kevin Klein and Jennifer Garner. Previous productions include CITY OF ANGELS on tour, MY FAIR LADY starring Richard Chamberlain, GREASE starring Rosie O’Donnell, DAMN YANKEES starring Jerry Lewis, BUSKER ALLEY, ON THE WATERFRONT, CHICAGO, STREET CORNER SYMPHONY, RAGTIME, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, THE FULL MONTY, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s BY JEEVES, STONES IN HIS POCKET on tour, TABOO, BOMBAY DREAMS , SUNSET BOULEVARD starring Petula Clark, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, THE WEDDING SINGER, THE DROWSY CHAPERONE, Twyla Tharp’s THE TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’, GREASE starring Laura Osnes & Max Crum, CYRANO, [TITLE OF SHOW], WEST SIDE STORY, COME FLY AWAY, ELF, CATCH ME IF YOU CAN, WONDERLAND, GODSPELL, ON A CLEAR DAY, ELF, JEKYLL & HYDE, BEAUTIFUL: The Carole King Musical, ON YOUR FEET, ALLEGIANCE, SUNSET BOULEVARD starring Glenn Close, and BANDSTAND. This week’s #SongWriterOfTheWeek is Max V

Mara Isaacs (Producer) is a Tony® Award-winning producer and founder of Octopus Theatricals, an independent company dedicated to fostering an expansive range of compelling theatrical works for local, national and international audiences. She has produced over 150 productions that have been seen on Broadway (Hadestown, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Translations, Anna in the Tropics, Electra), off-Broadway (Hadestown, Fiasco Theater’s Into The Woods, The Brother/Sister Plays, Crowns, The Laramie Project), at theaters and performing arts centers around the US and the world (UK, Europe, Middle East, South America, South Africa, Canada). Current projects include Iphigenia by Wayne Shorter and Esperanza Spalding; Somi’s Dreaming Zenzile by Somi Kakoma; Theatre for One; and An Iliad starring Denis O’Hare. She is the director of Project Springboard: Developing Dance Musicals, and Artistic Advisor to Fiasco Theater. She is proud to produce the work of Theatre For One, Phantom Limb Company, Song of the Goat Thea

Groundbreaking performer Ali Stroker won the 2019 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as ‘Ado Annie’ in Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! She made history as the first actor in a wheelchair to appear on Broadway when she originated the role of ‘Anna' in Deaf West's acclaimed 2015 revival of Spring Awakening. Ali's also the first actress in a wheelchair to graduate from NYU's Tisch drama program. She starred in 12 episodes of the talent competition, The Glee Project, which led to a guest role on Fox's Glee. She then recurred in the Kyra Sedgwick ABC series, Ten Days in the Valley, and she guest-starred on Fox’s Lethal Weapon, CBS’ Instinct, and Comedy Central's Drunk History. Ali earned a Barrymore Award nomination for starring as Olive in The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. In addition to her work on and off-Broadway, she's soloed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, New York's Town Hall, and Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. Stroker has been a co-chair of Women

Anthony Veneziale (Two-Touch) is the conceiver and co-creator Freestyle Love Supreme and FLS Academy. Founding member of American Immigrants (San Francisco). He has used improv techniques to create endeavors with Thomas Kail & Lin-Manuel Miranda (In the Heights, Bartlett, “The Electric Company”), Daveed Diggs (The Freeze), numerous networks/companies (HBO, Cartoon Network, Sesame Workshop, Boardwalk Pictures, Google) and co-founded speechlessinc.com, an improv thinking company that helps humans create, collaborate, and find their authentic voice. STAGE: Freestyle Love Supreme, Servicemen, Death in One Acts, and Trashin': Time to Waste. TV: ”Sex and the City”, Freestyle Love Supreme.  Listen in to this podcast, and you'll hear about the origins of this new form on Broadway, and how he helped Lin-Manuel Miranda and Tommy Kail with In The Heights, and a ton more, including (yes, I'm giving you the full bullet points, because this podcast is that good): Why Hip-Hop/Rap is so effective in the theater and why thi

Adam Gwon is a musical theater writer named one of "50 to Watch" by The Dramatist magazine and hailed "a promising newcomer to our talent-hungry musical theater" by The New York Times. His musicals have been produced on six continents, in more than half a dozen languages. Off-Broadway: Ordinary Days (Roundabout Theatre; Keen Company, Drama League Award nomination, Best Revival), Old Jews Telling Jokes (Westside Theatre); Regional: String (Village Theatre), Cake Off (Signature Theatre, Helen Hayes Award nomination; Bucks County Playhouse), Cloudlands (South Coast Repertory), The Boy Detective Fails (Signature Theatre), Bernice Bobs Her Hair (Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma); West End: Ordinary Days (Trafalgar Studios). In this episode, we talk about . . . How he went from writing individual songs to full-length musicals  What he looks for when looking for something new to write about, or when looking into making adaptations The 3 "blind dates" he went on that led him to adapt Scotland, PA into a musical What it

Susan Blackwell is an actress, writer, and singer, best known for playing characters based on herself in the original musicals [title of show] and Now. Here. This. She has appeared in other plays, musicals, films, and television shows, and even created and hosts her own talk show Side by Side by Susan Blackwell on Broadway.com. In this episode, we talk about . . . Finding the time to pursue your dream, while working your day job . . . like literally while your boss is standing over your desk as you work on lyrics! What "dollar-cost-averaging" has to do with a career in the theater. Life of a freelance artist and how she structures her day for success. Why being a multi-hyphenate and focusing on many things is important to her, and should be to you too. How did Title of Show happen - and what's it like now watching people play her! Tune in and enjoy this inspiring artrepreneurial episode and when you're done, turn that dial over to Susan's new podcast (created with her wonder twin, Laura Camien), The S

Stephanie Lee, born into the family business, has worked her way through just about every position in the company! Now, as CEO/President, Stephanie has the unique advantage of being able to offer her team and clients more than 20 years of hands-on experience and knowledge of group trips to Broadway.  This week’s #SongwriterOfTheWeek is Ryan Scott Oliver (@RyanScottOliver)! If you enjoyed the outro music in this episode, go on over to www.ryanscottoliver.com/ for more tunes. Are you writing your own show? Looking to break into the Producer life? Check out The Producer's Perspective PRO for resources and support from an entire community of theater-makers! www.TheProducersPerspectivePro.com  Looking for more information on Stephanie's Group Sales agency? Visit https://www.broadway.com/groups/. Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway This podcast was edited by Stanley Wiercinski.  www.theproducersperspective.com 

Mark Sendroff started his law career at the firm of Bomser & Oppenheim in 1975 and moved to the firm of Gottlieb, Schiff, Ticktin & Sternklar in 1979, eventually becoming a partner until that firm’s dissolution in 1995, at which time he founded Sendroff & Associates, P.C. In January 2007, he and entertainment lawyer, Jason Baruch, formed the current firm of Sendroff & Baruch, LLP. He presently represents many of the talented artists whose work can be seen prominently in the areas of theatre, film, television, and music.  This week’s #SongwriterOfTheWeek is Or Matias (@OrMatias)! If you enjoyed the outro music in this episode, go on over to www.ormatiasmusic.com/ for more tunes. This episode is sponsored by National Alliance Music Theatre (NAMT). For more information, go to namt.org/. Follow Mark: @msendroff Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway This podcast was edited by Stanley Wiercinski.  www.theproducersperspective.com 

If you don’t know Broadway Funny Girl Julie Halston, you are in for a treat. She’s one of the fiercest comediennes we have, currently playing and flambaying a Producer (!) on Broadway in Tootsie, but has been in everything from Gypsy (where we met) to You Can’t Take It With You to Hairspray to Anything Goes and more. But she got her start on one of the smallest stages in New York City. And the story of her rise as a Broadway star, a writer, a producer, and more is a real inspiration and education for us all. Listen to hear all about: How Charles Busch forced her to write her first show in two weeks . . . and how she got the courage to do it. Where she learned how to do dramatic readings of NY Times Wedding Announcements. (And yes, listen to her do a reading from the NY Times at the end of this podcast!) Why she says “yes” to everything she can and why you should too. Why, despite her big Broadway success, she still performs in her one-woman show (including a performance coming up on October 3rd at Birdlan

Chad, the multi-talented and multi-nominated book writer/lyricist of shows like Aladdin, The Wedding Singer, Elf, and this season's breakout original hit, The Prom, talks about his experience with failure, writing original musicals versus adaptations, and how to have confidence as a writer. We are taking a break on this podcast! Don't worry . . . we will be back on September 9th with a brand new, very exciting season!  This episode is sponsored by The Long Room, the Irish gastropub with an extensive beer menu featuring craft, domestic & international brews. Visit The Long Room today!  www.thelongroomnyc.com  Follow Chad: @ChadBeg Keep up with me during the break: @KenDavenportBway This podcast was edited by Stanley Wiercinski. 

Kiss Me Kate's Warren Carlyle, nominated this season for Best Choreography, talks about how his dance journey started, what made him hang up his dance belt and turn to choreography, and his transition from the West End to Broadway.

Check out this week's podcast featuring composer and lyricist Paul Gordon. He discusses how his successful career writing pop songs eventually led him to Daddy Long Legs and Jane Eyre, how he gets his ideas, and why he started StreamingMusicals.com.

Robert Horn, the writer behind the show nominated for 11 Tony Awards this season (including Best Book of a Musical!), talks Tootsie and more. Through his experience writing for both TV and on Broadway, he has learned what makes something funny and exactly how to find it.

Josh Bergasse, who earned On the Town a Tony nomination for Best Choreography, talks about his history with dance, how he creates his own luck, and how to work through pressure. Plus, he lets us in on his creative process and discusses why choreographers should be engaged early on in musicals.

In this episode, Michael Mayer talks about his experience directing Tony-award winning shows, including Thoroughly Modern Millie, Spring Awakening, and Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Michael also discusses how after all that, he can still feel like a fraud, and how he gets through those feelings when starting a new show.

Check out this episode of the podcast featuring Playwright, Dominique Morisseau. Listen to her talk about why she's cautiously optimistic about where we are and where we're headed with diversity in the arts, why she doesn't read reviews, and her take on the term "emerging artist."