He's been called, not always affectionately, the most important man in commercial theatre. As Chairman of the Shubert Organization, Gerald Schoenfeld has been at the helm of a producing team and theatre chain that includes some of the oldest and most beloved houses on the Street: the Ambassador, the Lyceum, the Winter Garden, the Majestic, the Cort, the Ethel Barrymore, etc. etc. and so forth. The Shubert Organization is the largest theater owner on the Great White Way. In addition to producing plays, the organization owns 16 Broadway theatres and owns, leases, and manages theatres outside New York (National Theatre in Washington, DC; Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles; Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia) and boasts other real estate holdings such as New York's Sardi Building. Founded in 1973, the Shubert Organization's roots can be traced back to the late 19th century when brothers Levi, Samuel, and Jacob Shubert launched their theatre empire. Schoenfeld went into the Shubert fold in 1950, teamed with Bernie Jacobs a few years later to run the organization, and shows no signs of slowing down five decades hence. He's on the Board of the Times Square Business Improvement District, serves as Vice President of the League of American Theatres and Producers, and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and the Musical Theatre Writing department at NYU/Tisch. The winner of an Actors' Fund medal, Schoenfeld isn't without his critics. When residents of the Clinton and Hell's Kitchen district worried about the quality of life in Times Square if "air rights" were sold above the buildings on Eighth Avenue, the Shubert Org (as well as the Nederlanders, Jujamcyn and numerous Broadway luminaries) proved a powerful lobbyist for selling those rights. The request was granted in 1998, then overturned in 1999 and then, a year ago, upheld by the New York State appellate court. The high cost of theatregoing, the higher cost of theatre producing, and the kinds of shows that now make it to Broadway have also caused theatre professionals and attendees to grumble about the powers that be, but after fifty years in the business (and forty years running the business), Schoenfeld is, as the song goes, "still here," enduring the pervasiveness of television, the lure of the internet, wars overseas, economic recessions and the overall precariousness of life upon — and behind — the wicked stage. Some of that life is lavishly set forth in a new book, "The Shuberts Present: 100 Years of American Theater," published by Harry N. Abrams and written/compiled by the staff of the Shubert Archive. Schoenfeld penned the book's introduction and spent a half hour chatting with Playbill On Line about what's new — and old — in the world of the Shuberts.

He's been called, not always affectionately, the most important man in commercial theatre. As Chairman of the Shubert Organization, Gerald Schoenfeld has been at the helm of a producing team and theatre chain that includes some of the oldest and most beloved houses on the Street: the Ambassador, the Lyceum, the Winter Garden, the Majestic, the Cort, the Ethel Barrymore, etc. etc. and so forth. The Shubert Organization is the largest theater owner on the Great White Way. In addition to producing plays, the organization owns 16 Broadway theatres and owns, leases, and manages theatres outside New York (National Theatre in Washington, DC; Shubert Theatre in Los Angeles; Forrest Theatre in Philadelphia) and boasts other real estate holdings such as New York's Sardi Building. Founded in 1973, the Shubert Organization's roots can be traced back to the late 19th century when brothers Levi, Samuel, and Jacob Shubert launched their theatre empire. Schoenfeld went into the Shubert fold in 1950, teamed with Bernie Jacobs a few years later to run the organization, and shows no signs of slowing down five decades hence. He's on the Board of the Times Square Business Improvement District, serves as Vice President of the League of American Theatres and Producers, and is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and the Musical Theatre Writing department at NYU/Tisch. The winner of an Actors' Fund medal, Schoenfeld isn't without his critics. When residents of the Clinton and Hell's Kitchen district worried about the quality of life in Times Square if "air rights" were sold above the buildings on Eighth Avenue, the Shubert Org (as well as the Nederlanders, Jujamcyn and numerous Broadway luminaries) proved a powerful lobbyist for selling those rights. The request was granted in 1998, then overturned in 1999 and then, a year ago, upheld by the New York State appellate court. The high cost of theatregoing, the higher cost of theatre producing, and the kinds of shows that now make it to Broadway have also caused theatre professionals and attendees to grumble about the powers that be, but after fifty years in the business (and forty years running the business), Schoenfeld is, as the song goes, "still here," enduring the pervasiveness of television, the lure of the internet, wars overseas, economic recessions and the overall precariousness of life upon — and behind — the wicked stage. Some of that life is lavishly set forth in a new book, "The Shuberts Present: 100 Years of American Theater," published by Harry N. Abrams and written/compiled by the staff of the Shubert Archive. Schoenfeld penned the book's introduction and spent a half hour chatting with Playbill On Line about what's new — and old — in the world of the Shuberts.

Stars - including Donna Murphy, Kristin Chenoweth, Idina Menzel, Raul Esparza, Hugh Jackman, Jennifer Westfeldt, Tommy Tune, Stephanie D'Abruzzo and John Tartaglia - tell their stepping off the bus stories

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage.

A biography and TV series will chronicle the life of the late Marty Richards, the stage and film producer who was among the backers of the Academy Award-winning 2002 film of the musical Chicago, and whose Broadway credits included Sweeney Todd, Crimes of the Heart and La Cage aux Folles.

From the Special Tony Playbill:

What's announced and what's in previews in the West End.