Thomas Schumacher Goes "Behind the Curtain". Image via American Theatre Wing.
If you blog about it, they will come. Or at least that’s how I feel today.
In the last week, I wrote about how much I love to see behind the curtain of a show in the making and I also talked about how Disney Theatricals President Thomas Schumacher is a savvy theater person. Well, what should pop into my in-box but an announcement from the American Theatre Wing (the Tony people) touting a new episode of their Working in the Theatre program that promises to go “behind the curtain” and hosted by Schumacher! Do you feel the tingles, too?!
The downloadable show is a hands-on look at the often unsung artists and technicians who make Broadway truly work: a Puppet Master, Make Up Supervisor, Wig Designer, Musician and Dresser. Schumacher is a congenial and witty host, asking the questions you want to ask. And if you recall the old “people sitting on folding chairs”, public access style of the series in past years (hosted by Isabelle Stevenson, bless her), this show signals an attempt to modernize the format. All in all, it turns out to be a must-see for real theater geeks.
(Full disclosure, I have a soft spot for the series. I was on the panel once; watch that episode only if you’ve got time to kill and a good bottle of wine.)
