Listen: Why One Tony-Winning Producer Thinks Broadway’s Boom Is Just Beginning

By Gordon Cox

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Think Broadway is big now? Then get ready, because the boom is just beginning.

So says Ken Davenport, the producer of the Tony Award-winning revival of “Once On This Island,” on the latest episode of Stagecraft , Variety‘s theater podcast.

Listen to this week’s podcast for free below and at  Apple Podcasts :

“People thought, oh, Broadway’s been booming over the last couple of years? It’s about to experience another [boom],” Davenport predicted. “W
hen ‘Hamilton’ opened, there weren’t kids in the Philippines wearing ‘Hamilton’ T-shirts. There are kids right now in the Philippines wearing ‘ Harry Potter ‘ and ‘ Frozen ‘ T-shirts. They’re gonna want to come here.”

Davenport’s revival of “” gave watchers  one of the biggest surprises of Tony night , snatching the trophy for musical revival away from its more traditional competition, including the perceived frontrunner ” My Fair Lady .” How’d he pull it off?

“We’re seeing a real change on Broadway in general,” he explained. “Not only ‘ Once On This Island ,’ but I think ‘ The Band’s Visit ‘ win, the success of ‘Dear Evan Hansen,’ the success of ‘Come From Away’ — I think we’re seeing a real embracing of unique and original ways of telling stories.”

On , the producer — whose interest in transparency led to his long-running blog, the Producer’s Perspective , and to Broadway’s first crowd-funded production — also addressed goats on the red carpet, the secrets to a good Tony number, and breaking taboos and blurring the lines between producer and creator with his newest Broadway project, “Gettin’ The Band Back Together,” starting previews at the Belasco Theater on July 19.

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