Jack Viertel facts for kids
Jack Viertel is an important person in American theater. He is a producer and a writer. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut. For 34 years, from 1987 to 2021, he worked at a company called Jujamcyn Theaters. There, he was the Creative Director and a Senior Vice President. This means he helped decide which shows to put on and how they would look.
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Jack Viertel's Theater Career
Jack Viertel helped create many famous musicals. He came up with the idea for Smokey Joe's Cafe, which was a very long-running musical show on Broadway. He also thought of the musical After Midnight. He worked as a "dramaturg" for Hairspray. A dramaturg helps a play or musical tell its story in the best way. The musical and movie The Prom also started from his original idea.
Working with Encores!
From 2000 to 2020, Jack Viertel was a producer for the Encores! series. Encores! puts on special concerts of older, less-known musicals. Many shows from Encores! later moved to Broadway, which is the biggest stage for musicals. These included After Midnight, The Apple Tree, Finian's Rainbow, and Gypsy.
Teaching and Writing
In 2003, Jack Viertel started teaching at the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He taught about music theatre. He turned what he taught in his class into a book called The Secret Life of the American Musical. This book was published in 2016. Many people liked the book. The New York Times said it was "revelatory and entertaining," meaning it showed new and interesting things about musicals in a fun way.
Jack Viertel's Book
- The Secret Life of the American Musical, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2016. ISBN 978-0-374-53689-3
Other Places to Learn More
- Broadway Profiles – A Serial Interview with Jack Viertel CTI, April 18, 2019
