CMU School of Drama


Sunday, November 25, 2012

Paula Wagner Turns to Producing on Broadway

NYTimes.com: Ms. Wagner tread a bit warily through the “Grace” party at first, relying on her publicist from “The Heiress” to introduce her to theater reporters she didn’t know, including an influential one from Variety. Ms. Wagner can still be clenched in the limelight, after so many years of safeguarding Mr. Cruise, one of the most controlling stars in Hollywood. But now and then her game face fell away at the Copa. When the veteran talent agent Harry Abrams came up and asked her to lunch, for instance, Ms. Wagner was awe-struck.

2 comments:

Tim S. said...

I find this article interesting because of the discussion of differences within the film and theater industry. I remember that Ms. Wagner came to CMU to talk within the past few years and her insights to film were quite facsinating. I have been torn for a while about whether I wanted to go into film and television or theater. While I knew about the significant production differences, I always assumed the same big shots had a significant cross over. However this article proved me wrong. They dicussed the fact that Ms. Wagner did not know all the big shot press members of the theatrical scene, especially when she would be quite familiar with those in film. As far as my thoughts about television/film verses theater, is that while they both are used to tell stories, they both tell completely different stories that cannot be told in any other way without losing a key component.

Anonymous said...

I love that Ms. Wagner is exploring all of the creative areas she loves. I truly respect that, not only is she is able to provide her own creative input as a producer, but that she is able to have creative discussions with those responsible for the material without putting her foot down and saying it has to be her way. I will not be surprised if both of Ms. Wagner's productions on Broadway do extremely well- she clearly has an eye for talent (i.e. forecasting Jessica Chastain's success) and seems to approach her work tastefully, with passion and creativity, and with goals other than simply making money. Ms. Wagner has been hugely successful in her career in the past, and it is wonderful that she still has such passion for the arts and will continue to work to bring beautiful productions to Broadway and elsewhere.