Category Archives: Theatre
Richard Wesley’s Political Drama, Autumn, to Debut in Brooklyn
Richard Wesley, author of The Richard Wesley Play Anthology, will be taking his politically driven play, Autumn, to the Billie Holiday Theatre in Brooklyn, New York. This will be Wesley’s first full-length play in over 27 years.
Autumn is a political drama that explores the conflicts that arise when aspirations collide across a generational divide marked by sharply different political agendas. The concept comes from Wesleys observation of the evolution of Black politicians against a changing political landscape.
Although Wesley has not had a full-length play in 27 years he is no stranger to the stage. His stage works include: The Black Terror, The Talented Tenth, and the Broadway production, The Mighty Gents. He’s also a noted screenwriter for classic films that star Sidney Poitier including: Uptown Saturday Night, Let’s Do It Again, and Mandela DeKlerk along with Native Son starring oprah Winfrey and Akosua Busia. He has write for televisions series as well.
What a thrill to return to The Billie Holiday Theatre and to Brooklyn with the New York City premiere of Autumn. This is a timely work that raises questions about the responsibilities politicians have to the public, an especially important issue in this age of hyper-partisan politics and legislative stalemate.
Richard Wesley
Autumn will be directed by award-winning director Water Dallas. The cast includes Jerome Preston Bates (Seven Guitars, Stickfly), Terria Joseph (Empire, Cornerstone), Brent Langdon (House of Cards, The Program), Dorian Missick (Southland, Deliver Me from Evil), Count Stovall (A Streetcar Name Desire, Driving Miss Daisy), and Pauletta Washington (Beloved, The Watsons Go to Birmingham).
The Richard Wesley Play Anthology featured, in addition to Autumn, The Black Terror, The Sirens, The Mighty Gents, and The Talented Tenth. Each of the plays included in this anthology was born out of the idea of the public thinker, and what Arthur Miller would refer to as the importance of an individual conscience – as well as the belief that each generation must give back, must inform and inspire the generation that follows. No people – and certainly not the African Americans still striving and struggling in the 21st century – can thrive if they fail to adhere to that simple idea.
The play will run from October 21st to November 6th. For more information on the show and to buy tickets, click here.
John Breglio on WAMC Radio
John Breglio, author of I Wanna Be a Producer, spoke with Joe Donahue host of The Roundtable on WAMC. He spoke about why revivals of Broadway shows work so well, what you can find inside the book, and lots more! Click on the link below to listen to the full interview and let us know what you think!
>>Listen<<
What does a producer actually do? How does one travel from that great idea for a show to a smash hit opening night on Broadway? In I Wanna Be a Producer: How to Make a Killing on Broadway…or Get Killed (April 2016, Applause Books, $29.99), John Breglio – a Broadway veteran with more than 40 years experience – shares an exceptional road map for the hows and wherefores, the dos and don’ts of producing a Broadway play. In this highly informative book, Breglio offers practical concepts for the aspiring producer and entertains with great personal anecdotes from his illustrious career as a leading theatrical lawyer and producer.
Breglio recounts not only his first-hand knowledge of the crucial legal and business issues faced by a producer, but also his experiences behind-the-scenes with literally hundreds of producers, playwrights, composers, and directors, including such theatre luminaries as Michael Bennett, Joe Papp, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Patti Lupone, August Wilson, and Mel Brooks.
Says Breglio, “Ultimately, my goal is to give the business of producing the respect it deserves. It is a profession that requires numerous skills, both business and creative. It demands relentless fortitude and optimism, and it should never be assumed casually without recognizing the enormity of the task.”
Working or aspiring producers, investors, directors, actors, designers, teachers — as well as those who are simply curious about the backstage reality of the theater — will relish John Breglio’s sage advice and irresistible storytelling. They’ll also treasure the included DVD of Every Little Step, a documentary of the auditions for the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line.
I Wanna Be a Producer is indispensable reading for theater professionals and fans of all levels – from high school drama clubs to college theater programs, from community theater groups and summer stock to The Great White Way.
How an Entertainment Lawyer Became a Broadway Producer
John Breglio, author of I Wanna Be a Producer, was once an entertainment lawyer before he became best known for his critically acclaimed revival of A Chorus Line and Dreamgirls. In this featured article below from Playbill, they take a look at John Breglio’s book and “making a career change if you’re willing to take a leap”. Read a snippet below to learn more.
John Breglio, one of the toughest and savviest theatrical attorneys on Broadway, decided to take down his shingle a decade ago to become, of all things, a Broadway producer.
A man who once sat behind the creators at the table on shows including A Chorus Line, Nine, Fences, Dreamgirls, The Elephant Man and Sunset Boulevard, to name just a few, now sits at the head of the table.
In life, he says, “You have to be willing to take that leap.” He must firmly believe that, as he is leaping once again into uncertain waters as a first-time author. His book, I Wanna Be A Producer: How to Make a Killing on Broadway… or Get Killed, is equal parts autobiography, textbook and showbiz tell-all.
Those who get bitten by the theatre bug generally remember the precise moment that its mandibles sank in. For Breglio, the moment came at age nine, when he was hypnotized by Gwen Verdon in her Tony-winning role as Lola in Damn Yankees, singing the erotically charged “Whatever Lola Wants, Lola Gets.”
The electricity of that moment carried him through law school and into his entertainment law career. There are so many things that people speculate about in show business, like what really happened between Patti LuPone and Andrew Lloyd Webber during the fateful transfer of the musical Sunset Boulevard from London to Broadway. Or what exactly was the deal Michael Bennett struck to give members of the original cast of A Chorus Line a share of the profits. Breglio helped craft those deals, and is able to pull back the curtain on their mysteries, setting the record straight.
Read the entire article by clicking here.
A Cappella Musical ‘In Transit’ Set To Open On Broadway!
In Transit, the new a cappella musical that counts Frozen Oscar winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez among its writers, will begin previews November 10 at Broadway’s Circle in the Square. Among its many talented writers and directors, vocal arrangements will be by Deke Sharon, who is best known for his work on Pitch Perfect and The Sing-Off and is also the author of The Heart of Vocal Harmony.
In Transit, the a cappella musical that played a critically acclaimed run Off-Broadway, will begin previews November 10 at Broadway’s Circle in the Square, prior to a December 11 opening night.
Casting and creative team have not been announced.
Circle in the Square is currently home to the Tony-winning musical Fun Home, which will end its run September 10.
Advance tickets for In Transit go on sale to American Express Card Members July 25 (10 AM/EST) through August 2 (9:59 AM EST). Audience Rewards members will have advance ticket access from August 2 (10 AM EST) through August 8 (9:59 AM EST).
Tickets will go on sale to the general public August 8 at 10 AM/EST at Telecharge.com. Tickets range from $89-$159.
With a book, music and lyrics by Academy Award winner Kristen Anderson-Lopez ( Frozen), James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan and Sara Wordsworth, vocal arrangements by Deke Sharon ( Pitch Perfect, The Sing-Off) and musical supervision by Rick Hip-Flores ( Rocky), In Transit will be directed and choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall ( Anything Goes, Nice Work If You Can Get It).
Learn more in PlayBill.com
John Breglio on The Daily
John Breglio, author of I Wanna Be a Producer, was on The Daily, a radio show featured on Talk Radio Europe. He spoke with Allan Tee about his book and his background in being an entertainment lawyer. Listen to the full interview by clicking on the link below!
>>Listen<<
What does a producer actually do? How does one travel from that great idea for a show to a smash hit opening night on Broadway? In I Wanna Be a Producer: How to Make a Killing on Broadway…or Get Killed (April 2016, Applause Books, $29.99), John Breglio – a Broadway veteran with more than 40 years experience – shares an exceptional road map for the hows and wherefores, the dos and don’ts of producing a Broadway play. In this highly informative book, Breglio offers practical concepts for the aspiring producer and entertains with great personal anecdotes from his illustrious career as a leading theatrical lawyer and producer.
Breglio recounts not only his first-hand knowledge of the crucial legal and business issues faced by a producer, but also his experiences behind-the-scenes with literally hundreds of producers, playwrights, composers, and directors, including such theatre luminaries as Michael Bennett, Joe Papp, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Patti Lupone, August Wilson, and Mel Brooks.
Says Breglio, “Ultimately, my goal is to give the business of producing the respect it deserves. It is a profession that requires numerous skills, both business and creative. It demands relentless fortitude and optimism, and it should never be assumed casually without recognizing the enormity of the task.”
Working or aspiring producers, investors, directors, actors, designers, teachers — as well as those who are simply curious about the backstage reality of the theater — will relish John Breglio’s sage advice and irresistible storytelling. They’ll also treasure the included DVD of Every Little Step, a documentary of the auditions for the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line.
I Wanna Be a Producer is indispensable reading for theater professionals and fans of all levels – from high school drama clubs to college theater programs, from community theater groups and summer stock to The Great White Way.
The life of Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents, a writer, director, and also an author of Original Story By, Mainly On Directing, and The Rest Of The Story, was featured in The Wow Report on WorldofWonder.net. He is best known for directing three revivals of Gypsy, but in his trio of memoirs we learn much more about the Tony Award winning director. Read about Arthur Laurents and his works in the article below!
July 14, 1917– Arthur Laurents, as the story goes: late for his place on a panel discussion, Laurents burst onto the stage draped in mink and announced: “Behold, a living legend!” Stephen Sondheim, also on the panel, looked up and said: “Wrong on both counts”.
I just ate up his trio of memoirs Original Story By (2000), Mainly On Directing (2009), and The Rest Of The Story (2012), each chock full of yummy, dishy theatre and Hollywood stories. Laurents is important to me in many ways. I admire the way he boldly lived his life. I love his work, most especially because he wrote the book for my favorite musical Gypsy (1959), which I find to be a perfect piece of theatre. Musical Theatre fanatics will go on forever discussing the subject of who was the greatest Mama Rose in this landmark musical. This casting quandary can be a playful parlor game or a bitter argument for Musical Theatre types. Jerome Robbins directed the original production, but Laurents directed three revivals of Gypsy including my favorite version starring my good close personal friend Angela Lansbury in 1974, but there was also Tyne Daly in 1989 and Patti Lupone’s 2007 Tony Award winning turn.
In 2010, at 92 years old, Laurents directed a revival of West Side Story, a theatre classic for which he wrote the original lean, strong book. In this production, it was Laurents’s conceit to have the Sharks and their girls, who are from Puerto Rico, speak and sing in Spanish. The cast would all be young and if not Puerto Rican, at least Hispanic. Laurents explained that the idea came from his partner of 52 years, Tom Hatcher (Laurents and actor Farley Granger had been lovers in the late 1940s), who admired a production of the musical in South America. It was also Hatcher who urged Laurents to revive Gypsy with Patti LuPone, so that the controversial Sam Mendes directed 2003 production starring Bernadette Peters would not be the last Gypsy in Laurents’s lifetime.
Laurents won four Tony Awards and was nominated for six Academy Awards, winning for his screenplay for The Turning Point (1977).
His life encompassed great swaths of 20th century cultural history and the famous figures 
within it. His theatre career had barely started when Laurents was drafted into the Army in 1941. He spent the war years writing training films and radio propaganda shows under the command of Private George Cukor. He had also come to terms with his gayness and soon lost count of the sexual experiences he experienced while in the Army. In Original Story By he writes openly of his lifetime of gay encounters, referring to his partners as “those unremembered hundreds.”
As a gay man living as openly as possible during some of this country’s most dangerous times, Laurents was a role model of discretion, but he was living the way he wanted, despite public opinion and cruelty against gay people everywhere.
Read the article in its entirety here.
John Breglio on the Knowledge@Wharton Podcast
John Breglio, author of I Wanna Be a Producer, was on University of Pennsylvania’s podcast, Knowledge@Wharton! In addition to speaking about his book he also spoke about his life and how he transitioned from being a lawyer to producing Broadway shows. To hear the entire podcast click on the link below!
>>Listen<<
What does a producer actually do? How does one travel from that great idea for a show to a smash hit opening night on Broadway? In I Wanna Be a Producer: How to Make a Killing on Broadway…or Get Killed, John Breglio – a Broadway veteran with more than 40 years experience – shares an exceptional road map for the hows and wherefores, the dos and don’ts of producing a Broadway play. In this highly informative book, Breglio offers practical concepts for the aspiring producer and entertains with great personal anecdotes from his illustrious career as a leading theatrical lawyer and producer.
Breglio recounts not only his first-hand knowledge of the crucial legal and business issues faced by a producer, but also his experiences behind-the-scenes with literally hundreds of producers, playwrights, composers, and directors, including such theatre luminaries as Michael Bennett, Joe Papp, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Patti Lupone, August Wilson, and Mel Brooks.
Says Breglio, “Ultimately, my goal is to give the business of producing the respect it deserves. It is a profession that requires numerous skills, both business and creative. It demands relentless fortitude and optimism, and it should never be assumed casually without recognizing the enormity of the task.”
Working or aspiring producers, investors, directors, actors, designers, teachers — as well as those who are simply curious about the backstage reality of the theater — will relish John Breglio’s sage advice and irresistible storytelling. They’ll also treasure the included DVD of Every Little Step, a documentary of the auditions for the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line.
I Wanna Be a Producer is indispensable reading for theater professionals and fans of all levels – from high school drama clubs to college theater programs, from community theater groups and summer stock to The Great White Way.
Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group Launches Backwing
MONTCLAIR, N.J. – Hal Leonard Performing Arts Publishing Group, long the reader’s first choice for books on music, film, theater, television, and popular culture, is proud to announce the launch of backwing, a new digital community for creatives and fans.
Backwing will provide visitors with a vast array of information curated by and for aspiring and established actors, artists, authors, gurus, musicians, songwriters, producers, luminaries, entertainers, and, most broadly, fans. Every article on the site also serves as an open forum for those interested in a sustained discussion of any given topic.
“For nearly seven decades, Hal Leonard has provided consumers with the highest quality information available,” said Group Publisher John Cerullo. “We know who our readers are and what knowledge they crave. Backwing offers us a dynamic new means of reaching them, responding to their feedback, and cultivating conversations around our content in real time.”
Backwing is comprised of three main components. The first two—exclusive content pertaining to or drawn from HLPAPG products and a resource database populated with all manner of performing arts-related materials—will feature, in tandem with a vivacious comment section, multimedia created by and for HLPAPG authors and the publisher’s myriad industry associates.
“Since we reside at an intersection frequented by all manner of clientele, from nonprofits, educational organizations, and professional coalitions to gear, equipment, software, and instrument manufacturers, our contacts quite literally run the gamut of the performing arts world,” Cerullo explained. “We now aim to bring these brands together at backwing for the exclusive benefit of visitors to the site.
The third component, a direct-to-consumer sales portal featuring daily deals, giveaways, contests, and a slew of weekly/monthly special offers (many of which are also available to third-party vendors), can be found at backwingstore.com—an entirely separate domain.
Why two distinct websites? For the sake of every visitor’s experience, according to Cerullo: “Since backwing was designed with the end user foremost in mind, we’ve decided against tangling content and commerce. As such, multimedia content and resources are hosted at the deliberately noncommercial domain backwing.com while consumer products and services are restricted to the backwing Store.”
Thus, while backwing.com visitors may elect to peruse the site unencumbered by crass commercialism, backwingstore.com is always available to those who wish to explore HLPAPG’s catalog of more than 2,000 titles, take advantage of promotions featuring new releases and backlist titles, and enter contests to win fantastic prizes.
To get backwing off to a rousing start, HLPAPG is giving away great prizes for devotees of the performing arts, including an Epiphone guitar for music fans; a Rodgers + Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music package along with gift certificates to digitaltheatre.com for theater lovers; subscriptions to online streaming services for film and television buffs; and Met Opera on Demand Gift Subscriptions for classical music and opera enthusiasts.
HLPAPG encourages all performing arts enthusiasts, regardless of their skill level, industry status, or background, to join the creative conversation at its new digital hub. Welcome to backwing!
John Breglio at The Drama Book Shop
John Breglio author of I Wanna Be a Producer: How to Make a Killing on Broadway…or Get Killed, was at The Drama Book Shop in New York, NY! He was joined by Barry Weissler, producer of the Broadway show Chicago, to talk about his book, what makes a successful play, and much more! Watch the video below to hear what they had to say.
What does a producer actually do? How does one travel from that great idea for a show to a smash hit opening night on Broadway? In I Wanna Be a Producer: How to Make a Killing on Broadway…or Get Killed, John Breglio – a Broadway veteran with more than 40 years experience – shares an exceptional road map for the hows and wherefores, the dos and don’ts of producing a Broadway play. In this highly informative book, Breglio offers practical concepts for the aspiring producer and entertains with great personal anecdotes from his illustrious career as a leading theatrical lawyer and producer.
Breglio recounts not only his first-hand knowledge of the crucial legal and business issues faced by a producer, but also his experiences behind-the-scenes with literally hundreds of producers, playwrights, composers, and directors, including such theatre luminaries as Michael Bennett, Joe Papp, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Patti Lupone, August Wilson, and Mel Brooks.
Says Breglio, “Ultimately, my goal is to give the business of producing the respect it deserves. It is a profession that requires numerous skills, both business and creative. It demands relentless fortitude and optimism, and it should never be assumed casually without recognizing the enormity of the task.”
Working or aspiring producers, investors, directors, actors, designers, teachers — as well as those who are simply curious about the backstage reality of the theater — will relish John Breglio’s sage advice and irresistible storytelling. They’ll also treasure the included DVD of Every Little Step, a documentary of the auditions for the 2006 Broadway revival of A Chorus Line.
I Wanna Be a Producer is indispensable reading for theater professionals and fans of all levels – from high school drama clubs to college theater programs, from community theater groups and summer stock to The Great White Way.
I Wanna Be a Producer giveaway!
The Producer’s Perspective, a blog featuring a Broadway producer’s opinion on everything Broadway and beyond, is having a giveaway! The lucky book that is featured is John Breglio’s, I Wanna Be a Producer! The giveaway ends May 14 so be sure to enter below before time runs out. Best of luck!
>>Enter Here<<
What does a “producer” actually do? How does one travel from that great idea for a show to a smash hit opening night on Broadway? John Breglio cannot guarantee you a hit, but he does take the reader on a fascinating journey behind-the-scenes to where he himself once stood as a child, dreaming about the theatre.
Part memoir, part handbook, I Wanna Be a Producer is a road map to the hows and wherefores, the dos and don’ts of producing a Broadway play, written by a Broadway veteran with more than 40 years of experience. This comprehensive and highly informative book features practical analysis and concepts for the producer – and is filled with entertaining anecdotes from Breglio’s illustrious career as a leading theatrical lawyer and producer. Breglio recounts not only his first-hand knowledge of the crucial legal and business issues faced by a producer, but also his experiences behind the scenes with literally hundreds of producers, playwrights, composers, and directors, including such theatre luminaries as Michael Bennett, Joe Papp, Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, Patti Lupone, August Wilson, and Mel Brooks. Whether you are a working or aspiring producer, an investor, or are just curious about the backstage reality of the theater, Breglio shares his knowledge and experience of the industry, conveying practical information set against the real-life stories of those who have devoted their lives to the craft.
Onstage & Backstage 