Jack O'Brien is a director, producer, writer and lyricist. He served as the Artistic Director of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California from 1981 through the end of 2007. He has won three Tony Awards and been nominated for seven more, and won five Drama Desk Awards. He has directed and produced musicals, including The Full Monty and Hairspray, contemporary dramas such as The Piano Lesson, The Invention of Love and The Coast of Utopia, Shakespeare classics, including Hamlet and Henry IV (a combination of Part 1 and Part 2), and operas, including Il trittico at the Metropolitan Opera.
Listen in to hear Jack talk about . . .
- What losing his hair had to do with his directing career.
- Why he believes his job is to get out of the way.
- How he goes from Stoppard to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory . . and the difference (if there is one?) in his process.
- How not getting a directing gig taught him so much about how to get one (if you want to direct in the commercial theater you gotta hear this).
- Dealing with the shows that don’t work . . . and how he storms back afterwards.
And when you’re done with the podcast, if you want more Jack, I highly recommend his book, Jack Be Nimble: The Accidental Education of an Unintentional Director which you can get here.
Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway