Last week we celebrated 21 years of my production company, Davenport Theatrical Enterprises!

Did you know that the name of my company is a tribute to my great-grandfather, Delbert Essex Davenport?

Delbert (or Dell, as he was sometimes referred to) was a theatermaker who wore many hats throughout his career, including producer, lyricist, and publisher.  (Hmmm, wearing many hats – sound familiar?)  He wrote a show with Sigmund Romberg that played at a theater owned by the Shuberts!  And he was Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford’s publicist.  He even came up with a film technique that got the attention of (and a letter from) Charlie Chaplin. 

And the name of his company?

You guessed it!

Davenport Theatrical Enterprises Inc.

So in 2004, when I formed my production company, I named my company after him and his legacy.

And over the last 21 years, I’ve had the great pleasure of getting to tell so many incredible stories on Broadway and Off-Broadway stages. To remember them all, we created what I call the “Yearbook Wall” (see photo below) with window cards from all my shows. 

To celebrate the 21st anniversary, my team asked me a few superlative questions about these shows . . . 

The show that made me laugh the most

Gettin’ the Band Back Together

It was also the show that ran the least number of performances.  But that’s the challenge with new, non-star-driven material on Broadway.  It’s available for licensing, by the way.  And I guarantee, you’ll laugh your you-know-what off, too.  Listen to the album here.

Not only was the show funny, but the improvisational way we created the show (13 actors in a run once a week for three months, creating characters and making things up) was some of the most fun I’ve ever had.

The show that had the fastest turnaround

Spring Awakening (Deaf West revival)

From when I first saw Michael Arden’s brilliant production at the Wallis Annenberg Theater, to our first preview on Broadway, there were only 83 days!  But when I saw it, I knew it HAD to be done, and I didn’t care if we only had 3 days.  While moving it that fast was hard from a marketing standpoint, the rest was doable – because we couldn’t waste time thinking about anything – we just went 100 mph and got @#$% done!

The show that made a Broadway debut into a Broadway star 

Too many to remember, to be honest! 

Hailey Kilgore from Once On This Island. Ariana Grande, from 13! The Musical.  I love when the shows I’m involved with MAKE stars.  

The show I’m excited to pass down to the next generation of producers

Harmony: A New Musical

We had a shorter run on Broadway than we would’ve liked. But I can’t wait for there to be a time when the show is rediscovered. Just think about what the next generation of TheaterMakers could do with the material!

The show that shouldn’t work but did

Oh, Mary! 

On paper, it shouldn’t work – but those make the BEST shows (see Hamilton for another example).  We’re not the lead producers on Cole Escola’s show, so we didn’t discover it, but we’re happy to be a part of the journey as co-producers, with a special thanks to our producing partner Adam Reimer for bringing it to us.

The show with my favorite PR stunt

We’ve done a lot of these over the last 21 years . . . 

For Once On This Island, I took a goat to the Tony Awards. For Daddy Long Legs, we livestreamed a performance to thousands of people around the world for the first time ever. But my favorite? I don’t even know if I’d do this one in 2025, but for My First Time, we did a big PR stunt for our first performance, where we let virgins get in for free (if you don’t know the plot of My First Time – it’s about exactly what you think it’s about – but go ahead and google if you want to know more!). But the promotion went everywhere, including CNN and even Jay Leno’s opening monologue for his late night show at the time.  Check out the script for the show here, and also watch this iPhone commercial I was in featuring the show!

The show that taught me the most

Spring Awakening

They say you should “write what you know.”  Well, I like to produce what I don’t know so that I can learn more about whatever it is (Harmony is another example of this.). Before Deaf West’s Spring Awakening, I had never had a conversation with a deaf person.  I was forever changed by that show.  And I believe the audience was as well.

My takeaway from the last 21 years is this . . .

You have to produce what you love.

That’s it.

I look at my “Yearbook Wall” every day when I walk in and out of my office, and I smile because I love all these shows so much. Producing can be a very, very challenging profession. You want to make sure you love what you’re working on. Because if it brings you joy, hopefully it brings joy to an audience, too. 

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I started writing these articles 17 years ago!  How long have you been reading? Which show brought you here to my newsletter? Was it Godspell? Or A Beautiful Noise? Or Altar Boyz? Let me know!