Isaac Robert Hurwitz – Wikipedia

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Isaac Robert Hurwitz
Alma mater Brown University
Occupation Theatre Producer
Years active 2000-Present
Known for Co-founding the New York Musical Theater Festival
Awards Drama Desk Award

Isaac Robert Hurwitz is an American theatre producer. A graduate of Brown University.,[1] he is the co-founder of the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF).[2]

New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF)[edit]

Hurwitz co-founded the New York Musical Theater Festival with partner, Kris Stewart, in 2004.[3] He served as NYMF’s Executive Producer until 2009, and then as Executive Director and Producer from 2009-2013. Under his leadership, NYMF premiered “more than 350 new musicals, more than 90 of which went on to Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional, and international productions”.[4] Some of the most notable shows to be premiered at NYMF include Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize winner Next to Normal, [title of show], Altar Boyz, and Emojiland.[5] Between 2009 and 2013, Hurwitz produced the Korean premieres of three musicals from NYMF at the Daegu International Musicals Festival.[6] In 2005, Hurwitz and NYMF received the $100,000 Jujamcyn Theaters Prize, given to a not-for-profit theater for contributions to the art form.[7]

In 2013, Hurwitz received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of his service and “a decade of creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form.”[8] At the end of that year, Hurwitz left the festival to become a consultant for Fox Stage Productions, a new stage division of 20th Century Fox.[9]

Fox Stage Productions[edit]

After consulting with Fox Stage Productions since its creation in 2013, Hurwitz was hired as its senior vice president in July 2015. Reporting to Bob Cohen, the then head of the division, Hurwitz was tasked with developing and producing plays and musicals based on Fox’s film catalog, which included Mrs. Doubtfire, The Devil Wears Prada, and Diary of a Wimpy Kid.[10]

“Isaac is a uniquely talented and respected member of the Broadway community,” said Cohen. “We couldn’t be more grateful for his expertise in establishing and growing our Broadway business”.[10]

Fox Stage Productions was taken over by Disney Theatrical Productions in July 2019. The takeover came as a result of Walt Disney Company’s completed acquisition of the assets of 21st Century Fox. Hurwitz, Cohen, and Connor Brockmeier were among the employees that would not continue with the brand after Disney’s acquisition. Hurwitz continues to develop and produce theatre for the Broadway stage.[11]

Projects developed and produced by Fox Stage Productions during Hurwitz’s tenure included The Secret Life of Bees by Lynn Nottage, Duncan Sheik, and Susan Birkenhead, based on Sue Monk Kidd’s best-selling book, which ran off-Broadway at Atlantic Theatre Company in 2019;[12]All About Eve, directed and adapted by Ivo van Hove, starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James, which ran at the Noel Coward Theatre in London’s West End in 2019;[13]  Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Alan Schmuckler, Michael Mahler, and Kevin del Aguila, which ran at the Children’s Theatre Company in Minneapolis in 2016;[14] as well as licensed Broadway musical adaptations of Anastasia and Moulin Rouge! The Musical.[15]

Earlier career[edit]

From 2000-2003, Hurwitz served as music associate under Rob Fisher at City Center’s Encores! Series.[16] In 2001, he directed What the Eunuch Saw by Emily Jane O’Dell starring his Brown University classmate, John Krasinski.[17] Before joining Fox Stage Productions, Hurwitz produced The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero, which starred Gillian Jacobs, Anna Chlumsky, Kate Reinders, and Brian J. Smith;[18] and Anthony Rapp’s one-man musical, Without You, at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London and the Panasonic Theater in Toronto[19]

References[edit]

  1. ^ “Alumni News up to April 1, 2012 | Theatre Arts and Performance Studies”. www.brown.edu. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  2. ^ Lang, Brent (2021-10-18). “Producers Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Seth A. Goldstein Form Broadway Transmedia Company Hugo Six (EXCLUSIVE)”. Variety. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
  3. ^ “THE ‘SUNDANCE’ OF MUSICAL THEATRE | KRIS STEWART”. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  4. ^ Gans, Andrew (July 28, 2015). “Fox Stage Productions Tap NYMF Exec to Develop ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ and ‘Devil Wears Prada’ Musicals”. Playbill. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  5. ^ Criscitiello, Alexa. “NYMF To Shut Down After Fifteen Seasons”. BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  6. ^ Sierra, Gabrielle. “The New York Musical Theatre Festival Partners With South Korea?s Daegu International Musical Festival With Production Exchange”. BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  7. ^ Armbrust, Roger (January 12, 2005). “Jujamcyn Honoring Musical Theatre Fest”. Backstage.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew (April 29, 2013). “Nominations Announced for 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards; Giant and Hands on a Hardbody Lead the Pack”. Playbill. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  9. ^ Editors, American Theatre (2013-12-01). “Entrances and Exits for December 2013”. AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  10. ^ a b Gerard, Jeremy (2015-07-28). “Fox Stalks Broadway Henhouse, Naming Isaac Robert Hurwitz Senior VP For Theater”. Deadline. Retrieved 2021-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ Huston, Caitlin (2019-07-02). “Fox Stage Productions to merge into Disney Theatrical”. Broadway News. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  12. ^ Rooney, David (2019-06-13). “‘The Secret Life of Bees’: Theater Review”. The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2021-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ “All About Eve”. www.themodern.org. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  14. ^ Papatola, Dominic P. (2016-05-27). “‘Wimpy’ or Not, This Kid Might Make It to Broadway”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  15. ^ “Twentieth Century-Fox Theatre Productions, Inc. – Broadway Organization | IBDB”. www.ibdb.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  16. ^ “Back for Seconds | TheaterMania”. www.theatermania.com. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  17. ^ “FringeNYC 2002”. 2007-08-06. Archived from the original on 2007-08-06. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  18. ^ Blankenship, Mark (2007-06-21). “The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero”. Variety. Retrieved 2021-08-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ Rosky, Nicole. “Isaac Robert Hurwitz Joins Fox Stage Productions as Senior Vice President”. BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2021-08-29.