Podcast Episode 201: Broadway Powerhouse General Manager and Tony Winner Charlotte Wilcox

Here’s a fun fact of Charlotte Wilcox’s career that will give you an idea of who she is and the scope of her career:

Charlotte has worked on every single Broadway production of Grease since the original, including all the revivals (and even a possible next revival which she told us on this podcast is in the works).

She has worked on close to a hundred different shows in her 50 years (!) in the biz, and is arguably the Broadway GM with the most experience working today.

She’s a Management Idol.

She also was the first GM I worked for, gave me a couple of jobs early on in my career (I was the kid who got the wine for the office on Fridays at 5), and then GMed Godspell for me in 2011.

We squeezed those 50 years of experience into this one podcast, where we talked about:

  • The “learning by doing” method versus getting a degree, and why NOT having an MBA or JD might actually HELP in this business.
  • What has changed the most over the past 50 years that has affected the bottom lines of the budgets that she creates.
  • Why some shows should close much earlier than they do . . . like they used to.
  • How she started as a “secretary” and how she felt as a woman coming up in this biz . . . and the challenges she faced along the way.
  • What Broadway Producers could do differently to ensure more success.

General Managers are like the “Generals” in a war . . . they plan everything.  And Charlotte has fought more battles than most of us could fight in five lifetimes.

Prepare for a master class in the biz of Broadway when you listen to this . . .

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

This week’s #SongWriterOfTheWeek is Max Vernon! Today we’re playing Max’s song “Some Kind of Paradise”. If you like what you hear and want to learn more, check out Max on Instagram @frauleinsallybowels or www.maxvernon.com.

This episode is sponsored by Curtain Call! Curtain Call is the platform for all theatre professionals; onstage or backstage, creative or cast, producer or theatre. You can network easily AND look for work. You can view and apply for jobs directly through the platform. Just go to curtaincallonline.com to sign up. They also have an awesome Instagram page – with incredible photography @curtaincall.

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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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