[Deathwatch] Gerald Schoenfeld, influential figure in theater, 84

[Deathwatch Central]

Broadway theater power Gerald Schoenfeld dies

By MICHAEL KUCHWARA

NEW YORK (AP) — Gerald Schoenfeld, the longtime head of the powerful
Shubert Organization who helped bring numerous works to Broadway,
including "A Chorus Line" "Cats" and "Amadeus," has died at 84.

Schoenfeld died early Tuesday of a heart attack at his Manhattan home,
said Sam Rudy, a Shubert spokesman.

As chairman of Broadway's biggest landlord since 1972, Schoenfeld
ushered many plays and musicals to the Broadway stage and beyond. The
Shubert Organization owns or operates 17 Broadway theaters and one
off-Broadway playhouse, as well as theaters in Boston, Philadelphia and
Washington, D.C.

"Jerry was one of the true greats — a class act through and through. I
am heartbroken to hear of his passing and know Broadway's lights will
never shine quite as bright with him gone," said Hugh Jackman, who
became a Broadway star in "The Boy From Oz," which played the Imperial
Theatre, a Shubert house, during the 2003-04 theater season.

"For generations now, it has been impossible to speak about Broadway
without thinking of the enormous impact of Gerald Schoenfeld," said
Howard Sherman, executive director of the American Theatre Wing, which
co-produces the Tony Awards show. "His career was integral to the life
of the Great White Way."

Schoenfeld, a jovial, outgoing man and a familiar figure at Broadway
opening nights, had never been to the theater before going to work for
the law firm that handled business for the Shuberts — the quixotic,
combative dynasty that controlled much of Broadway's real estate in the
20th century.

"The only Schubert I had ever heard of was Franz Schubert, the great
composer," Schoenfeld wrote in "The Shuberts Present: 100 Years of
American Theater," a mammoth coffee table book published in 2002 that
celebrated the centenary of the theatrical empire founded by three
brothers — Lee, J.J. and Sam Shubert.

For more than 35 years, it was Schoenfeld's job as company chairman to
fill the theaters, which range from the cozy, wood-paneled Booth to the
splendidly opulent Winter Garden. It was a juggling act that required
skill and shrewdness, not to mention a little luck and an appreciation
for the stages he was booking.

Luck was what Schoenfeld needed in 1972 when he and another lawyer,
Bernard B. Jacobs, assumed control of the tottering Shubert empire,
taking over at a time when Broadway was in decline and more than a few
Shubert houses sat empty.

Schoenfeld and Jacobs turned things around first with such hit
productions as "Pippin" and "Equus," and then, in 1975, with "A Chorus
Line."

"It was a bonanza," Schoenfeld recalled in a 2002 interview with The
Associated Press. "A bellwether event because it was a product of the
not-for-profit theater and the Shubert Organization. That show really
changed the perception of the Broadway theater as far as nonprofit
theaters were concerned."

Schoenfeld worked out of an office above the Shubert Theatre, built in
1913, in what was once the private apartment of Lee Shubert.

Getting there is dramatic. Take the tiny elevator from an entrance on
Shubert Alley, a mid-block passageway that links West 44th and West
45th Streets in the heart of the theater district. An elevator operator
lets you out into a world of baronial, Citizen Kane splendor: plush
carpets, dark wood and polished brass. A seemingly inaccessible balcony
that would not be out of place in "Romeo and Juliet" overlooks the
scene.

"A Chorus Line" was followed by "Ain't Misbehavin'," "Evita,"
"Amadeus," "Dreamgirls" and "Cats," the long-running Andrew Lloyd
Webber musical that held forth at the Winter Garden for nearly 18
years. It was followed by another big hit, which is still running
there, "Mamma Mia!"

"The object is to fill these theaters," Schoenfeld said, either by
producing shows themselves or booking other producer's efforts. "And if
you are not in a time of plenty, then you put in whatever you can
find."

Schoenfeld used to pick the plays with Jacobs, who died in 1996. "Our
judgments and taste were the same," he said. "The rule between us was
if he liked it and I hated it (or vice versa) we would not pursue it."

In 2005, the Plymouth Theatre was renamed for Schoenfeld and the Royale
rechristened for Jacobs. The theaters are affectionately known as the
Jerry and the Bernie.

Survivors include his wife, Pat; a daughter, Carrie
Schoenfeld-Guglielmi; and two grandchildren.

Funeral arrangements will be private. A memorial service will be held
at a later date.


Many thanks to Deathwatch Central for posting this obituary