The American Theatre Wing's "Working in the Theatre" will feature "Making Ogre Broadway" on CUNY TV on Sunday, January 11 at 5 p.m. The segment will repeat on Friday, January 16 at 9 a.m., 2 and 7:30 p.m., and Saturday, January 17 at 11 a.m. The program becomes available as streaming audio and podcast from Americantheatrewing.org beginning Wednesday, January 14.
In a broadcast devoted to an in-depth look at one Broadway show, guests will include the creative team behind Shrek The Musical --Book writer and Lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire, Producer Bill Damaschke, Director Jason Moore, Producer Caro Newling and Composer Jeanine Tesori. Highlights of the discussion are centered on how the team was chosen; the development process that led Shrek to Broadway; how material from both the book and movie guided them in shaping the musical; how they approached taking the story to another level; striking a balance in making the show appealing to both children and adults; what they used, or didn't use, from producers' notes; and some of the technical "secrets" used to create the musical.
Producer of Shrek The Musical, Bill Damaschke is the President of DreamWorks Theatricals and co-president of production of Dreamworks Animation SKG, Inc. He joined DreamWorks Studios in 1995 and has served in a variety of animation roles, including head of creative production and head of development. Damaschke served as a producer of Shark Tale (nominated for Best Animated Feature Academy Award in 2004) and an executive producer of Over the Hedge and Kung Fu Panda. He has and continues to oversee the creative development from inception to screen of DWA's film slate.
David Lindsay-Abaire wrote the book and lyrics for Shrek The Musical and was most recently awarded the 2008 Ed Kleban Award as America's most promising musical theatre lyricist. Prior to that, he received the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Rabbit Hole, which premiered on Broadway at MTC's Biltmore Theatre. Rabbit Hole also received five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, and the Spirit of America Award. His other shows include Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World, High Fidelity and A Devil Inside, among others. In addition to his work in theatre, David wrote the screenplay for the upcoming Newline feature Inkheart and is currently at work on screen adaptations of his plays Rabbit Hole for 20th Century Fox, starring Nicole Kidman, and Kimberly Akimbo for Killer Films and DreamWorks. David is a proud New Dramatists alum, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the WGA and the Dramatists Guild Council.
Director of Shrek The Musical, Jason Moore has directed such Broadway shows as Avenue Q and Steel Magnolias. Moore also directed Jerry Springer: The Opera at Carnegie Hall and Off-Broadway credits include: Speech and Debate, Avenue Q, Guardians, and The Crumple Zone. Moore was Associate director of Les Misérables (Broadway, national tour), and Ragtime (Vancouver) and wrote The Floatplane Notebooks (Charlotte Repertory Theatre). Moore also directed TV episodes of "Dawson's Creek," "Everwood," "One Tree Hill" and "Brothers and Sisters." Moore has a BS in performance studies from Northwestern University.
