Kenny Wax

Kenny Wax is a British theatrical producer of musicals, plays, concerts and family entertainment.

Overview

He is the producer of three Mischief Theatre productions, The Play That Goes Wrong currently playing at the Duchess Theatre[1] in London and the Lyceum Theatre in New York, winner of the Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Comedy,[2] and the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design in a Play,[3] The Comedy About A Bank Robbery currently playing at the Criterion Theatre and Peter Pan Goes Wrong at the Apollo Theatre in 2015.

His production of Top Hat won three Laurence Olivier Awards and an Evening Standard Theatre Award for 'Best Night Out' in 2012.[4][5] It played at the Aldwych Theatre in the West End[6] before embarking on a UK tour. His production of Once on This Island won Best New Musical at the 1995 Laurence Olivier Awards from its four nominations. His recent productions of Hetty Feather, Room on the Broom and The Tiger Who Came To Tea have also received nominations for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment. His production of Wonderful Town won the Manchester Evening News Award for Best Production 2014.

He was appointed President of the Society of London Theatre in June 2017.[7] He listed 16th in the Stage 100, the industry newspaper's list reflecting the 100 most influential people working in the theatre and performing arts industry as well as being shortlisted by the Stage as Producer of the Year.[8][9]

He also sits on the board of the League of Independent Producers. Additionally, he produced the musical SIX.

Early life and education

Born in Bowdon, Cheshire, third child of parents Robert and Valerie Wax.

His brother Derek Wax is a multi BAFTA and Emmy winning television producer whose award winning programmes include Sex Traffic, The Hour, Occupation and Humans.

Kenny was educated at Altrincham Preparatory School,[10] in Cheshire and Carmel College, Oxfordshire. He graduated from the Polytechnic of Central London with a 2(1) in Business Studies.

Career

He started his career as an usher at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane on the 1989 production of Miss Saigon. He left there to work for Dewynters as a 'runner' before being offered full time employment in the media department of the theatre advertising agency.[11] He left there to be a runner for Cameron Mackintosh on the Stiles and Drewe musical Just So at the Tricycle Theatre directed by Mike Ockrent. He was production administrator at the King's Head Theatre in Islington where he produced his first production, a season of Sunday Night Concerts under the banner Kickin' The Clouds Away and spent a season as General Manager of the National Youth Theatre. Three years at Imagination Entertainment followed after which he set up his own company in 1995. For eight years while producing touring shows he was General Manager for PW Productions looking after The Woman In Black and several productions of Stephen Daldry's multi award winning production of An Inspector Calls.

Since his company was founded in 1997, he has produced numerous touring productions including Gerald Moon's comedy thriller Corpse, The Shellseekers starring variously Stephanie Cole, Rosemary Leach and Susannah York, Aspects of Love starring David Essex, The Witches of Eastwick starring Marti Pellow, Bedroom Farce, Gasping and My Boy Jack starring David Haig, Arsenic & Old Lace starring Angela Thorne and Brigit Forsyth, Strangers on the Train, Something Wonderful starring Connie Fisher with the Halle Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder, The Shakespeare Revue, Relatively Speaking, Honk!, The Challenge, Rain Man starring Neil Morrissey and Oliver Chris and Hobson's Choice starring John Savident.

He produced Brian May and Kerry Ellis's Anthems tour and he was General Manager for Tim Rice's production of Chess starring Josh Groban and Idina Menzel at the Royal Albert Hall and for Cameron Mackintosh's concert at the Bristol Old Vic honouring Julian Slade. He also managed The Night of the 1000 Voices for JGPC at the Royal Albert Hall for several consecutive years.

West End productions include musicals: Maddie, Once on This Island and Top Hat.[12] Plays: The Play That Goes Wrong, A Comedy About A Bank Robbery, Peter Pan Goes Wrong all by Mischief Theatre, Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things at the Ambassadors Theatre, Bad Jews at the Theatre Royal Haymarket, Nina Conti at the Criterion Theatre, An Inspector Calls at the Garrick Theatre, Dear Lupin at the Apollo Theatre, Hetty Feather at the Vaudeville Theatre and Duke of York's Theatre.

Children's and family entertainment productions include Mr Popper's Penguins at the Criterion Theatre Christmas 2016, We're Going On A Bear Hunt, The Tiger Who Came To Tea, What the Ladybird Heard at the Lyric Theatre Summer 2017, Stiles and Drewe's The Three Little Pigs at the Palace Theatre Summer 2015,[13] and with Tall Stories The Gruffalo,[14] The Gruffalo's Child and Room on the Broom at variously the Vaudeville Theatre, Lyric Theatre, Garrick Theatre, Apollo Theatre and the Arts Theatre.[15]

2017

A new stage adaptation helmed by director Sally Cookson[16] of Frederico Fellini's Oscar winning masterpiece La Strada[17] ran for six weeks at The Other Palace.[18] following a regional tour.

A production of Around the World in Eighty Days opened at Stoke New Vic Theatre and toured the UK through to January 2018.[19]

The Play That Goes Wrong opened on Broadway in March 2017.[20] and recently completed a 7 month UK wide tour[21]

International work

Top Hat has been seen twice in Japan, once with the all female Takarazuka Company and following that performed by the UK touring cast and in Sweden performed by the Malmö Opera. Hetty Feather has played at the Asolo Theatre in Sarasota, Mr Popper's Penguins[22] at the New Victory Theatre in New York City, The Tiger Who Came To Tea, We're Going On A Bear Hunt and The Three Little Pigs have all played at the Melbourne Arts Centre and the Sydney Opera House. A film version of We're Going On A Bear Hunt was shown on Channel 4 Christmas 2016.[23]

Several of his children's shows have played Kidsfest in Hong Kong and Singapore. Productions from his Kenny Wax Family Entertainment roster frequently tour to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Beijing and in North America.

References
  1. Brown, Mark; correspondent, arts (17 October 2014). "The Play That Goes Wrong proves right for West End" – via The Guardian.
  2. "Play That Goes Wrong scores Olivier".
  3. "THE PLAY THAT GOES WRONG's Nigel Hook Wins 2017 Tony Award for Best Scenic Design of a Play".
  4. "Top Hat producer in no mood to apologise for "the commercial sector"".
  5. Able, Sane and (18 February 2015). "3 wins for TOP HAT at the 2013 Olivier Awards - The Agency".
  6. "Top Hat, at Aldwych Theatre, Seven magazine review".
  7. "Mark Shenton's week: The rise of Kenny Wax, the West End's new president".
  8. "The Stage 100 theatre power list in full for 2017". 5 January 2017.
  9. "The Stage Awards 2017 - The Stage".
  10. site/info/html. "Altrincham Preparatory School"
  11. "Kenny Wax: 'I've done- every- job- from tour- guide- to follow-spot operator' - Interviews - The Stage". 23 August 2015.
  12. "Year of the Producer: Kenny Wax's Eureka Moment for Top Hat".
  13. https://www. name="thestage.co.uk/features/interviews/2015/kenny-wax-ive-"/-operator/
  14. "Tall Stories - The Gruffalo - Team".
  15. humans.txt. "Kenny Wax Productions".
  16. Groskop, Viv (19 November 2016). "How I made Wendy the real star of Peter Pan" – via The Guardian.
  17. "Fellini's La Strada comes to the stage".
  18. "Fellini's La Strada UK Tour".
  19. http://www.80dayslive.com/tickets-and-tour/
  20. correspondent, Mark Brown Arts (14 November 2016). "The Play That Goes Wrong to transfer to Broadway" – via The Guardian.
  21. "The Play That Goes Wrong". www.theplaythatgoeswrong.com. Retrieved 2017-06-30.
  22. "Review: Mr Popper's Penguins ****".
  23. Heritage, Stuart (19 December 2016). "Move over, Snowman! Let's have a cuddly Christmas with Bear Hunt instead" – via The Guardian.
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