I first noticed Bart’s work, like so many others, when I saw The Light in the Piazza.  I was about about 15 minutes into Act I, when during some moment of rapturous applause, I tore through the front of my Playbill to find out who directed “the beauty” that I was watching.

And I remember thinking then, “This guy is going to give us some stunning productions in the years to come.”

Boy did he deliver.

South Pacific, The King and I, Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, Awake and Sing!, Fiddler on the Roof (anyone who said “Who needs another Fiddler?” immediately shut up when they saw his production last year), The Bridges of Madison County, and more.  (No one could even get the Broadway rights to South Pacific from this guy before Bart came along.)

Bart took some time out from his rehearsals of the now running Oslo to chat with me about the role of the Director in modern productions and . . .

• How directing on Broadway wasn’t even in his game plan.
• How directing a show is like conducting an orchestra.
• What his rehearsal process is really like (and why it scares choreographers like this one).
• What he looks for from actors when he’s auditioning.
• Why it’s hard to find a good producer.

It has been ten years since I saw The Light in the Piazza, and Bart has already had a significant impact on Broadway.  And I can’t help but think the same thing I thought back then. . . imagine what is coming in the next ten years.

Listen to it on iTunes here.  (And give me a rating, while you’re there!)

Download it here.

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