Des McAnuff is the American-Canadian former artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and director of such Broadway musical theatre productions as Big River, The Who's Tommy and Jersey Boys. He was artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse, which he revived in 1983, during which time the theatre won more than 200 awards. For the Playhouse, he directed Romeo and Juliet, A Mad World, My Masters, Big River, As You Like It, A Walk in the Woods, Two Rooms, 80 Days, Macbeth, Three Sisters, Elmer Gantry, Much Ado About Nothing, The Who's Tommy, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. He has directed two motion pictures, The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle (2000) and Cousin Bette (1998).
Des has directed some of my favorite shows on Broadway. On top of his directorial credits, Des has been the Director-In-Charge at both the La Jolla Playhouse and the Stratford Festival, taking both organizations to new heights during his reign.
As you can imagine, he and I had a lot to talk about, including . . .
- How starting a theater company with other like-minded up-and-comers helped launch his career (that theater company is the now powerhouse producing org, The Dodgers, by the way).
- How he develops a show . . . which is never the same way twice.
- How the Broadway/Regional Theater enhancement model was born . . and why he thinks what’s happening in that market today is “dangerous.”
- The challenges of creating a musical with pre-existing music (Tommy, Jersey Boys) and his tips on how to do it.
- What show (or should I say “shows”?) he’s dying to direct . . . and why.
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