10 Most Powerful People in DC Theatre

So you might have seen the “Broadway's 50 Most Powerful People” on Broadwayspace.com that was compiled by industry insiders. They wrote, “Who are Broadway’s most powerful people? We put the question to a handful of industry insiders who, on condition of anonymity, ranked Broadway’s movers and shakers for a final and decidedly unscientific list of 50. Is power the ability to get a show up with the scratch of a pen? Is it the person at the very top of the game, or the person you wouldn’t dare put on hold? We let everyone define 'power'" for themselves and let the chips fall as they may.”

So I set out to do the same thing, but with the people inside the Beltway. I asked 50 people to participate from over 10 theatres, giving no one theatre more than 5 potential votes. I gave the recipients the task of naming whom they thought were the most powerful people with no definition of what "power" meant. Half of the people replied, and no one theatre outweighed another, so I feel it is a good list. I should mention that other than local theatre employees, donors, actors, designers and directors who are not affiliated with a particular theatre were also asked to participate. There were exactly 40 different people named as the “most powerful,” but I felt that only the top should be on the list so that we have a list of 10. As it was stated in the Broadway.com version, the insiders have complete anonymity.

10. Helen Hayes Awards honors excellence with one of the most prestigious theatrical honors in the country and also has a mission of outreach and building audiences. It gives awards annually in the DC region with categories in direction, design, acting and more.

9. Victor Shargai serves on the Kennedy Center Community Board, the Studio Theater, The Washington Ballet, and the Laurel Fund for the Performing Arts, and he is the Chairman of the Board for the Helen Hayes Awards. Before he got involved in interior design (Victor Shargai and Associates Inc.) he designed sets and costumes on and off Broadway. Mr. Shargai earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater and English from Queens College.

8. Mark Shugoll is CEO of Shugoll Research. In addition, he is a devoted patron of the arts, serving as a Board Chair of Arena Stage, and the national arts scene as a Board member of the Business Committee for the Arts and TCG. He is the founder of various award-winning arts education programs in Fairfax County, including ArtSpeak! and TheaterTrips!

7. Linda Levy Grossman is the Executive Director of the Helen Hayes Awards Society, the premiere professional theatre recognition program. She has also worked with area theatres and resides in Baltimore.

6. Molly Smith is the Artistic Director of Arena Stage and also serves as a member of the Board of the Theatre Communications Group, as well as the Center for International Theatre Development. Arena Stage has helped develop three shows that moved to Broadway in the last year.

5. Michael M. Kaiser has been President of the Kennedy Center since January 2001. Mr. Kaiser created the Kennedy Center Arts Management Institute to provide advanced training for arts administrators at varying stages of development and has created a series of programs to help train others in the field. Mr. Kaiser previously served as the Executive Director of the Royal Opera House. Kaiser launched Arts In Crisis: A Kennedy Center Initiative in early February 2009, which provides free arts management consultation to arts organizations across the United States.

4. Michael Kahn is the Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. From 1992-2006, he was the Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School, where he has been a leading member of the faculty since its founding in 1968. He has worked all over the country and run many of the nation's leading theatres, as well as directed on and off Broadway.

3. Eric Schaeffer is the Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA which won the 2009 Regional Theatre Tony Award. He has directed many shows at the Kennedy Center, and he served as the Artistic Director of their Sondheim Celebration. He is currently directing his third Broadway show. He has directed across the country and in the UK.

2. Peter Marks is the lead theatre critic at the Washington Post.

1. Jaylee Mead and the late Gilbert Mead are huge donors to many area arts organizations. They have been noted as giving the largest individual gift to a theatre in United States when they pledged $35 million to Arena Stage to help build their new building, properly titled The Mead Center for American Theatre. Their interest in theatre stemmed from Gil and Jaylee's involvement since 1970 in an employee theater group at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., where both were employed as research scientists. Jaylee produced many of the shows and performed onstage, and Gil was often the musical director. Beyond their money, they have been said to be the nicest and most caring individuals. Gilbert passed away in 2007.

Ask My Friends - Tony Night

So I have decided to make Wednesdays an “Ask my friends” segment of my blog. I have the best friends all over and they are so smart and have so much to share. So why not have them share on my blog. I have lined up a couple of people but how fitting is this first post. It is from my friend Jackie Carl at the Tony winning Signature Theatre. I asked Jackie to tell me all about being at the Awards. Jackie wears many hats at Signature including Special Events and Rentals. I met her a couple of months ago and was very impressed and LOVED her sense of humor. Here is what she said about the Tony night …

“Ever since Eric [Schaeffer, Signature’s Artistic Director] announced to us that we were receiving the Regional Theatre Tony Award, Signature’s offices have been completely abuzz with excitement. We have been super busy with press and praises – we even were sent an entire chocolate leg (yes you read that right!) which we gnawed on in the office for about a week! Like Jared mentioned, a bunch of our board members chipped in and bought about 20 tickets for staff members. Eric just took names of people who wanted to go and pulled from a hat about every hour during the day and announced over email who was the proud winner! I was one of the first ones picked! And not to have anyone left out, our company manager, again with funds donated by our board, planned a great Tony Party at Capital City Brewing Company down the street for staff and other theater friends here. They even had a red carpet laid out!

Now I know just being in NYC is an ongoing party, and Signature wanted to make sure it stayed that way. Saturday Night we all got together at INC Lounge at The Time Hotel. Staff, Board Members and other friends from the Industry were there. I don’t know if I got to see everyone, but know that Mark Kudish, Flo Lacey and some of the cast of our last show, Giant were there. The next day, after a morning Bloody Mary and lox and some shopping on the lower east side, it was time to start primping! Doors were closing at 7 and I was NOT going to be late.

I WAS GOING TO THE TONYS! I could write for pages about my excitement, disbelief and pride that were beaming from every inch of my soul… but I won’t. I will just tell you that I cried like a baby through the entire performance. Cried. Thank God my purse was big enough for some emergency make-up.

Despite my emotional upheaval, the show went on. Our tickets were in a block in the orchestra left around rows L-R- not too far back. It was pretty cool seeing the celebrities getting in and out of their seats to announce/accept the awards. At one point, I just turned to my co-worker to say something and saw Liza Minelli walking up the far aisle! Again, I had to pinch myself. Our award was the first to be given out. They played a little film tribute to Signature then Eric and Maggie went up to receive it. Eric’s speech was short and very sweet.

I have to brag a bit for Maggie [Boland, Signature’s Managing Director]. She is old friends with Clinton Kelly from What Not To Wear, and he had a team of people dress her for the night! I sat next to her husband and he said there was about 10 dressers, make up artists, and hairstylists in her room! Every woman’s dream! Of course she is lovely and doesn’t need all of that attention – but she looked fantastic!

After an hour of awards, we were going into the telecast. That’s where the real fun began. I’m sure if you’re reading this blog, you probably watched it live or at least YouTubed it by now. I re-watched the opening number on YouTube yesterday to see the treacherous Bret Michaels setFAIL.org. I didn’t catch it live because I was enraptured by the great Stockard Channing. However my phone blew up with texts from friends and family watching concerned over his collision. I heard he fractured his nose and cut his chin, but I’m sure he’s still “smoking hot.”

Other things missed by viewers at home were NPH doing some hilarious magic tricks during the TV breaks. He’s totally converted me to watching his sitcom. Million Dollar Quartet also performed… and talk about “smoking hot!” The one actor was the spitting image of Jerry Lee Lewis. They had an amazing energy and had everyone dancing in their seats. One “take away” we got from the performance were plastic Rock of Ages lights that were shaped like lighters. That’s what they had us wave during Constantine’s number. Also there was a great advertisement for The Addams Family coming to Broadway in spring of 2010 with Nathan Lane and Bebe Newerth!

Like I said I could go on, but it’s been about 20 minutes since I last looked at my pictures. All in all, it was probably one of the best nights of my life – seeing so many inspiring and talented artists. And indeed what a proud moment for the DC Theater community! Next to Normal looked great and Alice was well-deserving! We are so lucky to live and work in a community that understands the importance of theater. And it’s obviously paying off. The actual award will sit on everyone’s desk here in the office and then end up as a permanent fixture in our lobby. Stop by and see it!”

In the photo John Hance, Sarah Valente, Maggie Boland, Jayson Raitt, Karma Camp, Eric Schaeffer