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| Jack Viertel | |
|---|---|
| Name | Jack Viertel |
| Birth date | 1949 |
| Occupation | Broadway producer, curator, author, artistic director |
| Notable works | "The Secret Life of the American Musical" |
| Awards | Tony Award (producer), Drama Desk Award |
Jack Viertel
Jack Viertel is an American theatrical producer, curator, and author known for his work on Broadway and for shaping contemporary musical theater through programming, producing, and scholarship. He served as artistic director of the Encores! series at the New York City Center and produced numerous shows involving leading figures from Broadway, Lincoln Center, and regional companies. Viertel's career bridges intersectional collaborations among producers, directors, composers, and institutions such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Roundabout Theatre Company, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Viertel was born in 1949 and raised in the United States, with formative experiences that connected him to institutions such as Yale University, Columbia University, and regional conservatories; he later engaged with training programs associated with Juilliard School, Carnegie Mellon University, and the Northwestern University School of Communication. His early mentors included figures linked to the American Theatre Wing, The Shubert Organization, and notable producers from Broadway like David Merrick and Hal Prince, inspiring his trajectory toward theatrical producing and programming. Viertel's educational path intersected with fellowship and residency opportunities affiliated with the Guggenheim Fellowship, the MacDowell Colony, and arts initiatives supported by municipal institutions such as the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.
Viertel's professional life encompasses roles as producer, artistic director, consultant, and curator for revivals, new works, and festivals tied to organizations like New York City Center, Lincoln Center Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Broadway League, and the American Theatre Wing. As artistic director of the Encores! series, he collaborated with directors and creative teams who also worked for Stephen Sondheim, Andrew Lloyd Webber, George Gershwin, Cole Porter, and contemporary composers such as Jason Robert Brown and Lin-Manuel Miranda. Viertel produced and co-produced Broadway transfers that involved partnerships with producers including Scott Rudin, Cameron Mackintosh, Daryl Roth, and institutions like the Kennedy Center and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He has lectured at venues and programs associated with Harvard University, Oxford University, Princeton University, and the New School.
Viertel's production credits and curatorial projects include revivals and presentations of works by composers and playwrights linked to Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, and dramatists connected to the Golden Age of Broadway. He worked with directors and choreographers affiliated with Susan Stroman, Hal Prince, Tommy Tune, Hal Prince, Jerome Robbins, and collaborators linked to modern productions by Michael Mayer and Thomas Kail. Viertel partnered with performers and creative teams involving Bernadette Peters, Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, Joel Grey, Brian Stokes Mitchell, and other leading artists who have appeared across venues such as Broadway Theatre, Gershwin Theatre, Neil Simon Theatre, Lyric Theatre, and the Palace Theatre. His Encores! programming often connected to revival opportunities for shows that later transferred to the Tony Awards season and engaged designers and orchestrators from companies like American Repertory Theater and the New York Philharmonic.
Viertel authored books and essays engaging with the history and form of American musical theater, most notably "The Secret Life of the American Musical," which dialogues with scholarship associated with historians and critics such as Morrison Heckscher, Ken Bloom, Barbara Wallace Grossman, Ethan Mordden, and commentators from publications like The New York Times and The New Yorker. He contributed essays and program notes in collaboration with institutions such as the Library of Congress, Smithsonian Institution, and university presses connected to Columbia University Press and Oxford University Press. Viertel has lectured widely at festivals and symposia including Tanglewood, the Spoleto Festival USA, and conferences hosted by the American Theatre Critics Association.
Over his career Viertel received honors and nominations from organizations including the Tony Award administration, the Drama Desk Awards, and the Outer Critics Circle. His productions and curatorial achievements earned commendations from municipal and national arts bodies like the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Theatre Conference, and recognition from critics associated with publications such as Variety, Playbill, and The Washington Post.
Viertel's work influenced programming practices at leading cultural institutions including New York City Center, Lincoln Center, and regional theaters that participate in seasons with the American Conservatory Theater and the Goodman Theatre. He mentored younger producers, directors, and dramaturgs who later worked with entities such as Disney Theatrical Group, Second Stage Theater, and the Public Theater. Viertel's legacy is apparent in revival practices, pedagogy at university drama programs, and in the archival collections preserved by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and the Billy Rose Theatre Division.
Category:American theatre producers Category:Broadway producers