Who will be Producer of the Year – 2011? Vote now!

By Ken Davenport

It’s time for the 4th Annual Producer’s Perspective “Producer of The Year” competition!

Every December I call up several industry insiders and ask them for a list of the Producers they think kicked some serious A during the past calendar year. I take 5 of the common choices and they become the slate of nominees for The Producer of the Year!

And then, you vote for the winner and that winner gets a fancy-schmancy certificate, and Shubert Alley bragging rights.

The first year’s winner was the late Gerald Schoenfeld. Then Kevin McCollum took the prize. Last year, you voted in Randy Adams and Sue Frost of Memphis fame. This year . . . it will be one of the five below.

Here are your nominees (and an anonymous quote from one of the insiders I spoke to justifying their choice)!

1. Michael Cohl (2x nominee)
“Michael Cohl could have put the final nail in the coffin of the critics. Spider-Man got horrifically panned . . . twice. And, not only is the show still here, but it’s actually making money. Will it recoup? Probably not, but after suffering the worst worldwide buzz in the history of show business, the fact that it’s still spinning its web successfully, and that it has a shot at a Tony nomination is worth giving Michael a nom.”

2. The Kennedy Center (David Rubenstein, Chairman; Michael M. Kaiser, President; Max A. Woodward, Vice President)
“Look out NY not-for-profits, there is a new kid in town. The KC Ragtime transfer may have misfired, but Follies shocked the city with its success, and now they’ve got a revised Pal Joey with a Terrence McNally book on the docket for this season. I’d expect there to be a rush on Metroliner tickets this summer when it opens, because a lot of NY producers will be rushing to DC to check it out.”

3. Scott Rudin
“Scott has always had a toe in the Broadway pool, but he dove into the deep end last year with Book of Mormon, and boy did it pay off. Oh, and he lead produced or co-produced three other plays last season alone. He gets my vote this year because, well, a lot of people I know don’t like him . . . but everyone I know respects him.”

4. Lincoln Center Theater (Andre Bishop & Bernard Gersten)
“Don’t expect The Vivian Beaumont to be available anytime soon. Following up the long-running South Pacific with War Horse is looking to be quite a 1-2 punch for LCT (no one even remembers Women on the Verge). And, don’t forget, they’ve got this year’s Tony favorite, Other Desert Cities, running in midtown now as well. They could be back-to-back Best Play winners, two years in a row. And, the way they’ve been producing, I’d pick ’em as a favorite for a third.”

5. Robert Fox
“There’s one reason why Robert gets my nod this year. Besides The Shuberts, he’s the only other name above the title on Hugh Jackman’s show. And when you have the trust of that kind of star, you’ve got power.”