Jeffrey Seller is one of the most successful producers on Broadway. And it's no accident.
His shows won 22 Tony Awards, including four in the Best Musical category. His Broadway productions and tours grossed over $4.6 billon and have been seen by more than 43 million people. He is the only producer to launch two Pulitzer Prize-winning musicals — "Rent" and "Hamilton" — and he also just published a memoir, "Theater Kid."
He owes it all to a Sunday school teacher.
Seller, who was adopted and had a difficult home life, told IBD: "She changed my life." The "she" was Eleanor Glazer who gave him a small part in the Temple Israel Purim play. Being in that play "filled me with purpose for the first time," he said.
Follow Your Passion Like Jeffrey Seller
The good feelings propelled Seller to audition at Stagecrafters, an area community theater in Michigan. He was first cast in a minor role in an adult play. But he became a regular performer as part of Stagecrafters' Rag-A-Muffins youth theater group, which presents plays for young audiences.
But Seller, now 60, was more than a child actor. He paid attention to the way a play was crafted and also the stage directions. And most importantly, he monitored the audience's reaction. This power of observation proved critical at a surprisingly early age — 13.
That's how old he was when he was cast in a production of "Popcorn Pete." "I got the part of Jack-in-the-box," he said. "I performed a funny little dance and I remember how much I enjoyed participating. But I also remember thinking what a silly title. And what happens in this play? Nothing much is happening."
He recalls thinking the play "is not so great. So the question became why did we choose this play when it's not that good and the audiences are kind of small? Who picked this play and can't we do better?"
Steer Your Future
It is an extremely mature reaction for a 13-year-old. But as Seller explained, "I was trying at age 13 — and even before — to shape my world, not just participate in it."
He discovered that a reading committee recommended plays to the Stagecrafters board. And he immediately joined the committee. "Getting kids who are willing to spend their free time reading plays probably wasn't easy," he said. "I'd think about plays while I'm daydreaming on my bed. I ask myself how do you make someone want to see a show? What will make them buy tickets?"
He came up with two possible productions, "The Hobbit" and "Cheaper by the Dozen." What both shared was name recognition and — more importantly — large casts. More young actors meant more parents and grandparents and aunts and uncles buying seats.
Both were accepted by the Rag-a-Muffin powers that be. Both were produced. And both were successful. It was an early portent of what was to come.
Gain Education On Your Pursuit Like Seller
Meanwhile, Seller participated in area theater festivals. He gained understanding of theater as both art and business. He attended the University of Michigan where he majored in theater.
Like thousands before him, after graduation in 1986, he went to New York City, eventually landing a job with producers Barry and Fran Weissler. In addition to putting on new shows, the couple had a business that booked touring companies into theaters around the country. Seller was hired for that. And it turned out to be a good news and bad news kind of job. The bad news is that his immediate superior was difficult to work with. The good news is that he found a lesson to take away.
"(The immediate boss) forced me to learn many things quickly," Seller said. "Because of her throwing me out there, I became one of the best agents in the business. Within two years, I was already negotiating contracts, setting up tours and doing all the nuts and bolts of the business."
Learn From Side Hustles
While he realized he was "getting a PhD in Broadway producing," he felt he was losing touch with the creative end. So he managed to secure small side jobs. He directed a production of "The Fantastics" for a church group in Brooklyn and a Frank Loesser musical for a synagogue in Manhattan.
But it was a 1989 production of a musical he titled "A Pound of Feathers" that moved the needle. It was based on an original children's play written by a college friend. Seller convinced the synagogue to finance the production, hired writers to prepare a score, cast the musical and directed it. It also provided perspective on his strengths and weaknesses.
"It was my first time directing and producing a new musical. And what I learned from that experience is that I probably have an essential gift that probably not a lot of people have. That is having macro, big ideas and the ability to put together teams to make them happen," he said. "I made something exist that didn't exist previously. But I realized that while my work as a producer was essential, my work as a director was not. I had a feeling I'd always be able to find a great director, but I knew I could never find a better producer."
Seller: Build Your Team
In 1991, a composer named Jonathan Larson invited Seller to go downtown to hear a performance of his rock monologue called "Boho Days." Seller immediately recognized Larson's talent.
"It was a visceral experience, which for me means the music just overflows and cascades through my body. The hair on my arm is rising, I'm watching the story of a 30-year-old composer of rock musicals that no one wants to produce," Seller said. "I feel like I'm a 30-year-old wannabe producer, and I don't understand how this man who I've never met seems to be telling the story of my life."
Seller expressed his enthusiasm for the work, but felt the show was unformed. And Seller was ultimately unable to move forward with it.
At about the same time, Seller worked for Kevin McCollum at a new company called the Booking Office, essentially performing the same tasks as at his previous job. (He would eventually become partners in the company with McCollum.)
Speak Your Mind
In 1993, out of the blue, Larson called Seller. He'd completed a musical loosely based on the opera "La Boheme." And he invited Seller to attend a reading. Despite high hopes, Seller was disappointed by much of what he heard. But what to do? How do you tell this person, a man with significant potential but likely a fragile ego, the truth?
"This is where being a producer is a lot like being a parent. You love your children. You nurture your children. How do you tell them when they need to do better? How do you criticize them?" Seller said.
Seller said, "I was frightened I would offend. I was frightened I would lose the friendship. But I had to be honest. So like with your children, you lead off with a compliment. That's easy. And then you get to the meat, and the meat was I couldn't find the story and I cannot connect with any of the characters."
"Larson didn't take it well. He was not happy with me," Seller recalled. "But I think he took it in and when he called me a year-and-a-half later, I think he was eager to show me that he had taken this collage of life in the East Village and made it into a story with a beginning, middle and end."
Tap Other Opinions Like Seller Does
Larson's new story, to be known as "Rent," was near perfect. But Seller wasn't sure it was ready for production. So, "I seek out the opinions of an expert, of a smart person I trust and respect," he said.
That was Manny Azenberg, the legendary producer. They'd met years earlier, when Azenberg gave the Booking Office the bus and truck rights for Neil Simon's "Lost in Yonkers." In a business where sometimes people fudge numbers, he was impressed with the company's honesty.
"They handled the show professionally and the checks came in regularly and correctly. We became friends despite the generational issues," Azenberg said.
When asked about "Rent," Azenberg told him, "Don't start unless you're sure the script is ready. You have no idea what you're going to discover when you put it in front of an audience, but if you're not absolutely certain before you start, you'll never catch up."
Seller listened to Azenberg and Larson ultimately listened to Seller. He went back with Seller's notes in hand, made changes in the show and the rest is theatrical history. "Rent" ran on Broadway for 12 years and grossed $280 million.
Do What It Takes
Seller does whatever he can to make a play he believes in successful. "Avenue Q" — populated by three actors and 11 puppets — had low advance sales when it opened on Broadway. Rather than close, he handed out free tickets to people on the street — in order to build word-of-mouth. It worked. Daily sales doubled almost every two days, and the musical went on to win three Tony Awards.
As Azenberg noted: "when (Seller) commits to a project he really cares about it." Or as Seller says, "My job is to say yes, to nurture the artist."
Jeffrey Seller's Keys
- Produced some of the most profitable and award winning shows on Broadway.
- Overcame: Reluctance of many to pay increasingly high theater ticket prices.
- Lesson: "I was trying at age 13 — and even before — to shape my world, not just participate in it."
