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Chris Boneau is the co-founder of Boneau/Bryan-Brown. Since founding his theatrical press agency with partner Adrian Bryan-Brown in 1991, Chris has represented over 400 plays and musicals which have won 222 Tony Awards and 11 Pulitzer Prizes. In this episode, Erik and Chris talk about his experience doing press for notable Broadway productions like Angels in America with director George C. Wolfe. They also discuss the challenges of pitching institutional stories, what it’s like to work with A-list celebrities, and how theater criticism has evolved.
Adrian Bryan-Brown is a press agent and theatrical promoter. He has been involved with Broadway theatre and was called "one of the top press agents on Broadway" by the Association of Theatrical Press Agents & Managers. In 1983, he joined Solters/Roskin/Friedman, working with Joshua Ellis on many Broadway productions. He then worked with Chris Boneau and in 1991 established Boneau/Bryan-Brown, one of the leading theatrical press agencies in New York. He has represented more than 200 shows including Tony Award-winning plays like Art, Copenhagen and The History Boys. Other plays include Frost/Nixon, Skylight and Amy's View and musicals include The Who's Tommy, Sunset Boulevard, Titanic, Jersey Boys, Monty Python's Spamalot and Mamma Mia! In 2015, Bryan-Brown was awarded a Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre at the Tony Awards. This is the time of year when Press Agents especially are working overtime. Not only are there all those big Broadway shows opening on top of one another as we approach the Tony Award cutoff cliff (and only a handful of Press Agents to handle them), but then there are the awards themselves. That’s why we’re all lucky that Adrian Bryan-Brown, one of the partners in the mega firm, Boneau/Bryan-Brown (The Book of Mormon, Spring Awakening, Something Rotten!, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, and so many more), sat down with me to share his thoughts about Broadway “spinsters” including: Why the primary job of a Press Agent is the same as a Playwright. How making ice cream cakes at Carvel led to his career as a Press Agent. What will press look like on Broadway in 20 years? How social media makes everyone a spokesperson and what Producers need to do about that. His take on Critics. Why they matter . . . or don’t. Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway www.theproducersperspective.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The "Beauty and the Beast" production team - press representative Chris Boneau, producer Michael David, associate producer Donald Frantz, production supervisor Jeremiah Harris, producer Robert W. McTyre, marketing consultant Margery Singer - discuss creating a stage musical from an animated film, costume designs, production budget and ticket prices, marketing and publicity including a literacy program, and Disney's plans on Broadway.
The Beauty and the Beast production team -- press representative Chris Boneau, producer Michael David (who’s plays have won 49 Tony Awards), associate producer Donald Frantz, production supervisor Jeremiah Harris, producer Robert W. McTyre, marketing consultant Margery Singer -- discuss creating a stage musical from an animated film, costume designs, production budget and ticket prices, marketing and publicity including a literacy program, and Disney's plans on Broadway
"The Lion King" production team -- press representative Chris Boneau, composer Lebo M, advertising representative Rick Elice, producers Peter Schneider and Thomas Schumacher, and director, costume and mask designer Julie Taymor -- talk about the development of the animated film, the subsequent development of the theatrical show led by Taymor's vision, forming a creative design team, merging Western and African music into a unique collaborative sound, the publicity and advertising challenges, and marketing a nearly sold-out show for a long run.
The Lion King production team -- press representative Chris Boneau, composer Lebo M, advertising representative Rick Elice, producers Peter Schneider and Thomas Schumacher, and director, costume and mask designer Julie Taymor (Tony Award for the show) -- talk about the development of the animated film, the subsequent development of the theatrical show led by Taymor's vision, forming a creative design team, merging Western and African music into a unique collaborative sound, the publicity and advertising challenges, and marketing a nearly sold-out show for a long run
The production team of Elton John and Tim Rice's "Aida" - musical director Paul Bogaev, press representative Chris Boneau, director Robert Falls, book writer David Henry Hwang, vice president of creative affairs "Stuart Oken", and producer "Thomas Schumacher" - follows the show from its creative inception, through its early production at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, the Chicago tryout, to the Broadway opening.
The production team of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida -- musical director Paul Bogaev, press representative Chris Boneau, Tony-winning director Robert Falls (for Death of a Salesman), book writer David Henry Hwang (who won a Tony for his play M. Butterfly), vice president of creative affairs Stuart Oken, and producer Thomas Schumacher -- follows the show from its creative inception, through its early production at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, the Chicago tryout, to the Broadway opening.