Episode 164 – Four Time Tony Nominated Director, Michael Greif

Directing Rent would have been enough to make anyone’s career.

But Michael Greif added Next To Normal (another Pulitzer Prize winner) and Dear Evan Hansen to his resume, along with a host of others, putting him in a league all his own.

And what’s incredibly fascinating to me, and one of the reasons I wanted him on my podcast, is that each of these musicals aren’t exactly your typical Broadway musical . . . they had “alternative” subject matter, and not one of ’em had helicopters or were based on Marvel comics.

But Michael found a way to buck the Broadway trend and deliver smash after smash.  Listen to how he does it, as well as . . .

  • How he started his career by self-producing his own show.
  • What made him decide he wasn’t ready for New York, and why he went to graduate school instead.
  • What changed about Dear Evan Hansen since the first reading, and why (spoiler alert: there was an ensemble)
  • Why a “small” musical can be more powerful than a “big” one.
  • They can’t all be Rent.  What he does when a show doesn’t live up to what he initially hoped.

I first asked Michael to be on the podcast over a year ago.  You’ll soon hear that it was well worth the wait.

Click here for my podcast with Michael!

Listen to it on iTunes here. (And if you like the podcast, give it a great review while you’re there!)

Download it here.

 

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Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.

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