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Paul Blake (theatre)

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American theatre producer, writer, and director

Paul Blake (born 1941) is an American theatre producer, writer and director. He served as lead producer of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical alongside co-producers Sony/ATV and Mike Bosner, which premiered on Broadway in 2014 garnering seven Tony Award Nominations including Best Musical and winning in 2 categories (Best Lead Actress in a Musical and Best Sound Design of a Musical). At the time of its final performance (October 27, 2019) it was the 27th longest-running show in the history of Broadway.

Blake also co-wrote and co-produced the musical Irving Berlin’s White Christmas which was produced on Broadway. Blake also served as lead producer for the 2017 Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Sunset Boulevard starring Glenn Close at the Palace Theatre.

For 22 years he was the executive producer of the St. Louis MUNY, the largest and oldest outdoor theatre in America.  

Early life

Blake grew up in the Bronx, NY and graduated from the High School of Music & Art in 1958 and the City College of New York in 1962. At City College, he was voted President of his class and delivered a commencement address to his graduating classmates at Lewishon Stadium.

Early career

Blake began his professional career as an actor, making his debut in 1963 in the Off-Broadway revue, Tour De Four.  

After a series of disappointing Off-Broadway outings as a performer, he began directing, soon landing at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater (ACT), then under the leadership of its founder Bill Ball. Blake spent five years, from 1972 to 1977, at ACT, serving as head of its acting program while simultaneously directing shows both on its main stage and in its black-box theatre, including the first professional production by Tony Award-winning playwright Mark Medoff, and a production of Noël Coward's Tonight at 8.30.

In 1978, Blake moved to Los Angeles, where he produced and directed a string of successful star-driven stage productions, including Shaun Cassidy and Julia Duffy in Barefoot in the Park, Connie Stevens in Vanities, John Travolta and Charles Durning in Mass Appeal, Donna McKechnie in Annie Get Your Gun, Shirley Jones in The King and I and for five years his production of Words and Music starring songwriter Sammy Cahn toured the U.S. and England.

In 1984, Blake was asked to be the executive producer and artistic director of the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, California, where he ran the Santa Barbara Theatre Festival. Among the stars Blake worked with during his five-year tenure in Santa Barbara were Valerie Bertinelle, Cheryl Ladd, Julie Harris, and Peggy Lee. His production of She Loves Me, starring Joel Higgins, Pam Dawber and Theodore Bikel, opened to rave reviews in 1987 and moved to the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, where it earned another round of raves

For ACT in San Francisco he wrote an adaptation of Mae West's Diamond ‘Lil, which won 7 awards including Best Play Production from the San Francisco Theatre Critics.

The MUNY

In 1990, Blake was invited to take over the famous but struggling St. Louis MUNY as its executive producer. Blake turned around the landmark theatre, which was then in its eighth decade of operations. For the next 22 years under Blake’s leadership, the theatre enjoyed what the St. Louis Post-Dispatch called the MUNY’s "2nd Golden Age".  Among the productions that played the MUNY during Blake’s tenure were Bye, Bye Birdie starring Tommy Tune and Ann Reinking, George M! starring Joel Grey, The Wizard of Oz and Cinderella with Phyllis Diller, South Pacific and My Fair Lady starring Howard Keel, No No Nanette! starring Van Johnson and Marge Champion, Annie starring Rue McClanahan, and an original revue that starred the Radio City Rockettes.

During his 22 seasons at the MUNY, Blake wrote the books for a version of Sleeping Beauty with songs by Jerome Kern, White Christmas with songs by Irving Berlin and Roman Holiday with songs by Cole Porter.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

In 2010, the President of EMI Music Publishing, Roger Faxon, asked Blake to create a show out of the Carole King song catalogue. Blake assembled a creative team that included book writer Douglas McGrath, director Marc Bruni, and choreographer Josh Prince to create what would become Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Beautiful premiered at the Curran Theatre in San Francisco in October 2013, and moved to Broadway where it opened at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre in January 2014. It was a massive success on Broadway, garnering seven Tony Award nominations including Best Musical and winning in two categories (Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Jessie Mueller) and Best Sound Design of a Musical (Brian Ronan). At the time of its final performance (October 27, 2019) it was the 27th longest-running show in the history of Broadway. Beautiful's success on Broadway has spurred a range of additional productions, including in London's West End, two U.S. Tours, a U.K. Tour and an Australian Tour. A film version is also in the works.

Sunset Boulevard

Blake followed up Beautiful with the first Broadway revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Sunset Boulevard, directed by Lonny Price, with Glenn Close reprising her Tony Award-winning performance as Norma Desmond. Sunset Boulevard opened at the Palace Theatre on February 9, 2017.

References

  1. "Paul Blake – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  2. Newmark, Judith (5 January 2014). "The Muny's Paul Blake sings a new song". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  3. "Beautiful The Carole King Musical". Internet Broadway Database.
  4. "Beautiful The Carole King Musical". Internet Broadway Database.
  5. "Winners". tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  6. Messman, Lauren (2019-07-17). "'Beautiful' to Close at the End of October". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  7. "Paul Blake – Broadway Cast & Staff | IBDB". www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  8. Gans, Andrew (June 25, 2017). "Sunset Boulevard Revival, Starring Glenn Close, Ends Broadway Run June 25". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  9. jnewmark@post-dispatch.com, Judith Newmark • Post-Dispatch Theater Critic > 314-340-8243 > (14 August 2011). "Muny's producer looks ahead to new projects". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. Gans, Andrew (August 9, 2010). "Executive Producer of The Muny, Paul Blake, to Retire Following 2011 Season". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  11. jnewmark@post-dispatch.com > 314-340-8243, JUDITH NEWMARK • Post-Dispatch Theater Critic > (8 August 2010). "Paul Blake will leave the Muny after next season". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2019-09-30.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. "St. Louis's Muny Theatre, One of the Most Important Musical Theatres in America". International Musician. 2014-11-01. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  13. "St. LouIS Counted as America's Largest and Oldest Outdoor Theatre Showplace". St. Louis Civic Pride. 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  14. "Tour de Four". iobdb.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  15. "Production History". www.act-sf.org. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  16. "Sammy Cahn | Songwriters Hall of Fame". www.songhall.org. Retrieved 2019-09-30.
  17. "Ahmanson Has Summer Date With 'She Loves Me'; : A New 'Tamara' to Open Off Broadway in September". Los Angeles Times. 1987-05-21. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  18. "Stage Review: A Nice and Easy She Loves Me". Los Angeles Times. 1987-07-04. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  19. "Performing Arts Magazine" (PDF). Diamond Lil Program. 1987–88.
  20. "Production History". www.act-sf.org. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  21. "'LIL' GOODNESS HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH IT". The Washington Post. March 9, 1988.
  22. "The MUNY: A Family Affair". online.anyflip.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  23. "Archive – The Muny". Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  24. Pollack, Joe (1996-08-19). "Sleeping Beauty". Variety. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  25. "White Christmas". www.rnh.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  26. Bauer, By Claudia (2017-05-10). "'Roman Holiday' sings and dances onto the stage". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  27. "Carole King's 'Beautiful' Sets San Francisco Bow". The Hollywood Reporter. May 2013. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  28. Staff, Playbill (October 10, 2013). "The Verdict: Critics Review Broadway-Bound Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, Starring Jessie Mueller". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  29. "Internet Broadway Database".
  30. "Winners". tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  31. Messman, Lauren (2019-07-17). "'Beautiful' to Close at the End of October". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  32. "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical: Official UK & Ireland Tour". Beautiful. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  33. "BEAUTIFUL The Carole King Musical on Broadway | Official Site for Tickets | Tour". Beautiful. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  34. "Beautiful - The Carole King Musical on Tour | Broadway.org". www.broadway.org. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  35. "Tour Dates | Beautiful - The Carole King Musical". Beautiful. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  36. BWW News Desk. "BEAUTIFUL - THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL Will Embark on a UK Tour in 2020". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  37. "Beautiful: The Carole King Musical to tour Australia in 2018". Australian Arts Review. 2017-10-23. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  38. Barnes, Brooks (2015-03-22). "Sony Will Make 'Beautiful: The Carole King Musical' Into a Film". ArtsBeat. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  39. "Glenn Is Ready for Her Close-Up with Sunset Boulevard Remake". Vanity Fair. March 2019. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  40. Vine, Hannah (February 10, 2017). "Photos: Sunset Boulevard Revival Opening Night on Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-10-01.
  41. Gans, Andrew (June 25, 2017). "Sunset Boulevard Revival, Starring Glenn Close, Ends Broadway Run June 25". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-10-01.

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