April 26, 2021 – New York [Regrettably there was an error and the Zoom video recording failed for this event.]
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HE UNTOLD STORIES OF BROADWAY, VOLUME 4 from Dress Circle Publishing is the latest in a series by acclaimed historian and producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper. This landmark multi-volume series tells the stories of all of the theaters on Broadway; the new addition includes the beloved houses the Imperial, Jacobs, Studio 54, Minskoff, Friedman, and Golden, as well as the five Broadway theaters that were destroyed in 1982, changing the course of New York City history. THE UNTOLD STORIES OF BROADWAY, VOLUME 4, which includes over 30 new interviews, features hundreds of theatre professionals discussing everything that makes Broadway essential. How have shows like Fiddler on the Roof, Falsettos, A Raisin in the Sun, and Hair fought for social justice through art? Who are the groundbreaking artists whose names have been forgotten but should be remembered? What are the funniest bloopers from Les Misérables and the craziest legends from Studio 54’s days as a nightclub? What are the ways that American politics have affected theatre in the last century, from the Federal Theatre Project to satirizing presidents on stage? How has Broadway made it through tough times and remained the heart of New York City throughout it all? These invaluable books illuminate Broadway through the eyes of the producers, actors, stage hands, writers, musicians, company managers, dressers, designers, directors, ushers, door people and more who bring the theater to life each night. A portion of the book’s proceeds will benefit The Broadway Advocacy Coalition, the theater community’s response to the nation’s pandemic of racism and police brutality.
HE UNTOLD STORIES OF BROADWAY, VOLUME 4 from Dress Circle Publishing is the latest in a series by acclaimed historian and producer Jennifer Ashley Tepper. This landmark multi-volume series tells the stories of all of the theaters on Broadway; the new addition includes the beloved houses the Imperial, Jacobs, Studio 54, Minskoff, Friedman, and Golden, as well as the five Broadway theaters that were destroyed in 1982, changing the course of New York City history. THE UNTOLD STORIES OF BROADWAY, VOLUME 4, which includes over 30 new interviews, features hundreds of theatre professionals discussing everything that makes Broadway essential. How have shows like Fiddler on the Roof, Falsettos, A Raisin in the Sun, and Hair fought for social justice through art? Who are the groundbreaking artists whose names have been forgotten but should be remembered? What are the funniest bloopers from Les Misérables and the craziest legends from Studio 54’s days as a nightclub? What are the ways that American politics have affected theatre in the last century, from the Federal Theatre Project to satirizing presidents on stage? How has Broadway made it through tough times and remained the heart of New York City throughout it all? These invaluable books illuminate Broadway through the eyes of the producers, actors, stage hands, writers, musicians, company managers, dressers, designers, directors, ushers, door people and more who bring the theater to life each night. A portion of the book’s proceeds will benefit The Broadway Advocacy Coalition, the theater community’s response to the nation’s pandemic of racism and police brutality.JENNIFER ASHLEY TEPPER is producer of the musicals Be More Chill, Broadway Bounty Hunter, and Love in Hate Nation, recent projects that are part of a decade-long collaboration with the group known as Joe Iconis & Family. From producing small concerts in basements to producing a show on Broadway, Tepper has cultivated the theatrical collective which The New York Times called “the future of musical theatre.” She is also the Creative and Programming Director at Feinstein’s/54 Below, where she has curated or produced over 3,000 shows, including musicals in concert, original solo acts, theatrical reunions, songwriter celebrations, and more. Tepper’s leadership at the venue has gained praise from publications including The New York Times, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, Playbill, Newsday, New York Post, and more. On Broadway, Tepper has worked on The Performers, Godspell, Macbeth, and The Parisian Woman, and off-Broadway Smokey Joe’s Café and Boys’ Life. Tepper is the conceiver and director of The Jonathan Larson Project which premiered in fall 2018 and received an original cast recording from Ghostlight Records. She is historian consultant on the upcoming tick, tick… BOOM! movie and co-creator of the Bistro Award-winning concert series, “If It Only Even Runs A Minute,” now in its 11th year. Tepper recently received a 2020 Lincoln Center Emerging Artist Award. She was named one of the 10 professionals on Backstage’s first annual “Broadway Future Power List,” which stated: “Proving herself both a zeitgeist predictor and theatrical historian with her eclectic programming, Tepper is leading the conversation on contemporary musical theatre.”
Our guest interviewer will be Harrison Chad. Harrison Chad has been performing professionally since he was six years old. Broadway: Caroline, or Change (OBC), Les Misérables, Beauty and the Beast, Peter Pan. Regional: The Black Suits (Barrington Stage Company and Center Theater Group), Mame (The Kennedy Center). Television: “Dora the Explorer” (Voice of Boots the Monkey), “Little Voice,” “Little America,” “Murphy Brown,” “Divorce,” “Blue Bloods,” “Smash,” “Ed,” “Go, Diego, Go,” “Little Einsteins” Film: Jack, Jules, Ester, & Me; Tarzan 2 (Voice of Tarzan); Charlotte’s Web 2, Carry Me Home, The Hebrew Hammer. Proud member of AEA and SAG/AFTRA. Brown University Alum.