Scott Ellis

American Theatre Wing: "With Theresa Rebeck's The Understudy soon to close at the Roundabout and Douglas Carter Beane's Mr. & Mrs. Fitch beginning rehearsals at Second Stage, director Scott Ellis discusses his attraction to both projects and the delays and opportunities that caused each of them to land in New York a bit later than originally expected. He also discusses his early and absolute conviction that he was destined for a career as an actor, and how quickly that changed; how his friendship with John Kander and Fred Ebb from his acting in The Rink helped him to land his very first directing job, a revival of Flora the Red Menace at the Vineyard Theatre; the enormous opportunities afforded to him by artistic director Todd Haimes at the Roundabout, where Ellis is Associate Artistic Director; how and why he and Susan Stroman came to devise And The World Goes Round; his early work on the plays Picnic and A Month in the Country after his successes with A Little Night Music at the New York City Opera and She Loves Me -- Roundabout's first musical; the opportunity to collaborate on the creation of Steel Pier and the challenges of opening an original book musical in New York without benefit of an out-of-town tryout; why he feels The Look of Love, his Bacharach and David revue didn't succeed -- and why he thinks it was always meant to be done 'drinks in hand'; and how he tackled Twelve Angry Men, a seemingly familiar work which had never been produced professionally in New York."