New York, NY (Top40 Charts/ Back Stage Official Website) This week, Back Stage released its first Broadway Power List, revealing the 25 top influencers on the Great White Way. Power players Philip J. Smith, Jordan Roth, and Robert E. Wankel lead the list, followed by some familiar creative faces (Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, and Hugh Jackman), prolific producers (Scott Rudin, Jeffrey Richards, and
Kevin McCollum), and even some media types (Ben Brantley and Michael Riedel).
"Back Stage is proud to present our first Broadway Power List," said Back Stage Executive Editor
Daniel Holloway. "For the past 50 years, Back Stage has worked closely with Broadway, and we're now pleased to present a breakdown of the people who help make these productions possible."
Perception is power. Other things are power, too, of course—money, prestige, the ability to produce weapons-grade uranium. But when the folks who make Back Stage decided to create a list of the 25 most powerful people on Broadway, we chose to focus on perception.
We asked more than two dozen heavy hitters in the New York theater world a simple question: Who are the most powerful people on Broadway? The reactions to the results ranged from "Oh, really?" to "Oh, duh." Some respondents focused on actors and artists.
Others focused on the business-suit class. One person included "Whoever is responsible for the house seats at 'The Book of Mormon.' " Another listed his own name 25 times. (We discarded his votes. He made the cut anyway.)
What follows isn't Back Stage's opinion; it's the result of a scientific—or pseudoscientific, anyway—temperature taking of the Broadway community. The list is overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly male. That's an unfortunate (but no doubt accurate) reflection of an industry that has historically been dominated by old, moneyed white guys. Regardless, these are the people who rule Broadway, as chosen by their subjects.
Philip J. Smith, Chairman and Co-CEO, Shubert Organization and Foundation
Jordan Roth, President, Jujamcyn Theaters
Robert E. Wankel, President and Co-CEO, Shubert Organization and Foundation
Thomas Schumacher, President, Disney Theatrical Group
Scott Rudin, Producer
Jeffrey Richards, Producer, Press Agent
Nick Scandalios, Executive Vice President, Nederlander Organization
Todd Haimes, Artistic Director, Roundabout Theatre Company
David Stone, Producer
Hugh Jackman, Actor
Ben Brantley, Critic, The New York Times
Andre Bishop, Artistic Director, Lincoln Center Theater
James M. Nederlander, Chairman, Nederlander Organization
Stephen Sondheim, Composer-Lyricist
Michael Riedel, Columnist, New York Post
Kevin McCullom, Producer
James L. Nederlander, President, Nederlander Organization
Mike Nichols, Director, Producer
Cameron Mackintosh, Producer
Daryl Roth, Producer
(tie). Barry Weissler, Producer
(tie). Nick Wyman, President, Actors' Equity Association
Harold Prince, Director, Producer
Bob Boyett, Producer
Bernard Telsey, Casting Director
