One of the biggest upsets at the last month’s Tony Awards was Best Revival going to “The Gershwins’ ‘Porgy and Bess’” over the heavily favored “Follies.” The restructured “Porgy” was met with some outrage when it arrived on Broadway. Riding out that storm was lead producer Jeffrey Richards, who is on the short list of Broadway’s brightest and most colorful producers. Who else would show up in full dress blues at the august offices of the Shubert Organization trying to secure a theater for his revival of the “Caine Mutiny Court-Martial”? (It worked.) Born and raised in New York City, Richards has an encyclopedic knowledge of theater and a restless imagination, which he put to use first as a press agent and, since 2000, as a Broadway producer. His choices have been bold. Some have paid off (Tony Awards for “Spring Awakening,” “August: Osage County,” and revivals of “Hair” and “Glengarry Glen Ross”). Others have not (“Enron,” “Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,” and most recently “Bonnie and Clyde”).
As usual, Richards has a full roster in the upcoming season: An October revival of the Steppenwolf production of Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” with Tracy Letts and Amy Morton; yet another revival, in November, of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross,” starring Al Pacino; and the world premiere, in December, of Mamet’s “The Anarchist,” starring Debra Winger and Patti LuPone. We spoke with the prolific producer about his penchant for revivals of revivals and his gut instinct when it comes to greenlighting a project for Broadway.
In 2000, you revived “Gore Vidal’s ‘The Best Man,’” then revisited it in a new production last season. You’re now reviving both “Woolf” and “Glengarry Glen Ross” just seven years after major Broadway productions of each play. That’s highly unusual. Is this some sort of trend?
I was inspired by “La Cage Aux Folles,” which came back to Broadway just five years later, and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” which was done in 2004, 2008 and which will now be done again. So I sort of looked at them and said, “Wow, some shows are doing it in an even shorter span of time than what I’m doing.”
Is it a question of stars wanting to do it — Pacino in “Glengarry Glen Ross” and Scarlett Johansson in “Cat”?
I can’t speak to the latter, but with “Glengarry Glen Ross” it was just fortuitous timing. It’s the 30th anniversary of its world premiere in London.
Did Pacino initiate this revival?
Al and I had been talking for years about doing “Glengarry.” He’d never done it onstage. David Mamet and Pacino have collaborated before — Pacino was in “American Buffalo” [in 1983] and in the 1992 film of “Glengarry Glen Ross,” and he just finished filming the HBO movie about Phil Spector, which David wrote and directed. So I think the idea of this revival came about as a result of their relationship.
Pacino was nominated for an Oscar for his hotshot realtor Ricky Roma. This time he’s playing the Willy Loman-esque Shelley Levene, and Bobby Cannavale is playing Ricky. Did Pacino have much to do with Cannavale’s casting?
Al is thrilled that Cannavale wanted to do this. He thought he was fabulous in “The Motherfucker with the Hat,” and it has always been Cannavale’s dream to work with Al.
What makes Daniel Sullivan the right director, apart from his having directed Pacino before in “The Merchant of Venice”?
I think Daniel has a clear understanding of language and character development and of structure, all of which is essential to David Mamet. He’s also good at building suspense. I had worked with Daniel on the revival of Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming,” which also contains those elements. It was Pinter who originally brought this play to the attention of the Cottlesloe Theatre [at the National Theatre of Great Britain]. David wrote to Pinter asking him what he should do with the play and Pinter wrote back and said, “Nothing. I’m sending it to the Cottlesloe.” It all seems like the right kind of synergy given these factors.
You’re presenting the world premiere of Mamet’s “The Anarchist” directly on Broadway without the benefit of a regional production or out-of-town tryout, which is almost unheard of these days. Isn’t that risky?
I’ve been fortunate enough to present the world premiere of three of David Mamet’s plays on Broadway. “November,” “Race” and “The Anarchist” …
Did “November” and “Race” recoup their investment?
“Race” did and “November” is expected to recoup by the end of next year. I just think that David Mamet is one of our most significant and greatest living playwrights, and his work deserves to reach the widest audience possible, which is what Broadway provides. There’s intense interest in the media in “The Anarchist.”
Debra Winger is making her Broadway debut as a warden who must decide parole for a political radical. What makes you think she has the theatrical chops to pull it off?
I know that she has worked at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge in a couple of productions, and I heard very favorable things about her. She’s already had extended conversations with David Mamet, exploring all the facets of this character, and I think she’s very positive and comfortable in the relationship. I don’t think she’d undertake it unless she felt that way. I’m used to presenting people in their Broadway debuts. Kristen Davis and Cybill Shepherd are about to make their debuts [as replacements] in “Gore Vidal’s ‘The Best Man.’”
Do you think there’ll be chemistry between Winger and LuPone?
I can’t wait to watch the sparks fly. Patti’s an extraordinary actress and she knows her way around David Mamet, as she’s been in several of his plays. I think she and Debra are going to be an exciting and combustible combination on that stage.
Mamet is also directing the play. Isn’t it dangerous for a writer to direct his own work? No objectivity?
He did a brilliant job of directing “Race” on Broadway. And I’ve even asked him to direct another play I was interested in that he didn’t write. He’s a first-rate director. Richard Thomas, Kerry Washington, David Alan Grier, and James Spader said that being in the rehearsal room with David was a completely joyous and constructive experience. Besides, on “The Anarchist,” as on “Race,” he’s very sensitive to the needs of the playwright. After all, he’s had a longstanding relationship with him.
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