Broken Watch Theatre Company Dedicates Michael Weller Theatre
the Broken Watch Theatre Company
at last evening’s dedication ceremony
(Photo © Michael Portantiere)
Last evening, playwright Michael Weller participated in a ceremony dedicating the new Michael Weller Theatre. Located at 311 West 43rd Street on the sixth floor, the venue is the home of the Broken Watch Theatre Company, whose members voted to name it after Weller in acknowledgment of his body of work and his efforts as a mentor of emerging theater artists.
In a speech given just before Weller cut a ribbon to dedicate the theater, Broken Watch executive director Leo Lauer said in part: “Over the last 30 years, Michael Weller’s works have been performed on and off Broadway and in all the major playhouses in the U.S. and abroad. He has worked in television and in film, even receiving an Academy Award nomination. You name it, he’s done it. But as great as those accomplishments are, that’s not the only reason we’re here tonight.
“Broken Watch met Michael in the summer of 2002 when he gave us the rights to revive his play Split. We were thrilled — and shocked — when he agreed to attend rehearsals and to give ‘whatever help you may need,’ as he said. At the time, we were a small, unknown company, but not only did he trust us with his words, he encouraged us to risk and to soar…[After the production was over], he introduced us to playwrights whose voices he believed should be heard, counseling us when major decisions had to be made and singing our praises to whoever would listen.
“As [our company] grew, he was there every step of the way with answers and enouragement. More importantly, he was doing the very same for other young professionals through his mentor project at the Cherry Lane and his love and support for the Hypothetical Theatre Company, to name only a couple. For this alone, a theater should be named after him — but that’s only a small part of what he has given to the theater world. He’s given himself through his words, his heart, his friendship. We are humbled to work each and every day with his name hanging above us.”
Accepting the honor, Weller said in part, “I’m overwhelmed. I became a playwright in a theater very much like this one….[Theaters like this one allow you to take chances. My great hope is that one day, somebody who starts a great career will look back, and when they’re asked where were their plays done, they’ll say, ‘I started at the Weller.’ ”
Among Weller’s best-known plays are Moonchildren, Split, Loose Ends, Buying Time, and Spoils of War. His credits as a screenwriter include Hair, Ragtime, and Lost Angels. In addition, he was a writer/producer of the TV series Once and Again and developed two pilots with director Michael Pressman, with whom he is currently developing a new series titled Nassau County. His latest play, About Moomtaj, had its world premiere last September at the New Rep in Boston. Weller is currently collaborating on the creation of two musicals; one is based on Boris Pasternak’s novel Dr. Zhivago and the other will use the songs of Fleetwood Mac. With Angelina Fiordellisi and Susann Brinkley, Weller is co-founder of the Mentor Project at the Cherry Lane Theatre. He has also worked closely with several emerging theater companies as an advisor.
The first production of the Broken Watch Theatre Company in the newly named Michael Weller Theatre is The Safety Net by Christopher Kyle, directed by Martha Banta and featuring Jason Pugatch, Eva Kaminsky, Mark Setlock, Tinashe Kajese, Maren Perry, and Peggy Scott in the cast.
