Theater f inds a TV connection
The Tony winner brings a love of the stage to group’s board of directors.
The board of Center Theatre Group adds a top NBC executive.
Center Theatre Group has a little more Hollywood sparkle. The company announced that NBC Entertainment Chairman Robert Greenblatt has joined its board of directors.
Greenblatt is a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer (“A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder”) and has been a big advocate of theater-related projects at NBC, including “The Sound of Music Live!” and “Hairspray Live!”
The addition of Greenblatt (also a Golden Globewinning producer on “Six Feet Under”) to the board made sense as Center Theatre Group tries to highlight connections between the film and TV industries and live theater, artistic director Michael Ritchie said.
“I’ve worked with Bob on and off for more than a decade, and he is one of theater’s great advocates,” Ritchie said. “As we continue to strengthen our already wonderful board, there is no question that we want the guy who used his role as a top TV executive to broadcast musical theater into the homes of millions of Americans.”
Center Theatre Group stages plays and musicals at the Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum in L.A. and at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. The company, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year, already has a Hollywood presence on its board, including “Everybody Loves Raymond” actress Monica Horan Rosenthal, producer Gail Berman-Masters, YouTube global content head Susanne Daniels, producer Vin Di Bona and Chernin Entertainment executive Dante Di Loreto.
“I’ve always been a theater lover — from ‘Guys and Dolls’ back in high school to ‘Hairspray Live!’ on NBC, and I’m so pleased to be part of a world-class organization like Center Theatre Group,” Greenblatt said in the announcement. “I had great experiences working with Michael Ritchie and Center Theatre Group on the world premiere of ‘9 to 5: The Musical’ as well as ‘Drowsy Chaperone,’ and I look forward to doing everything I can to bring great theater to more and more people in Los Angeles.”