PAST PRODUCTIONS
By Mitchell Maxwell and MMaxwell Media LLC
Mitchell Maxwell began producing musicals during the summers of 1971, 1972, and 1973. First, with a traveling company called “The Troubador Theater” which played 37 summer camps throughout New England. Next, at the “Great Neck Community Center” under the banner of The Great Neck Summer Theatre.
In 1974, 1975, and 1976, Maxwell leased one of the oldest Barn Theaters in America. The historic PRISCILLA BEACH THEATRE in Plymouth, Massachusetts, where he produced and directed 15 productions.
In the Spring of 1975, Maxwell produced his first NYC production at the historic CHERRY LANE THEATRE in Greenwich Village. The production was called Can You Smell Gas? starring BBC and British stage star Linda Poland.
Fugue In A Nursery by Harvey Fierstein opened in December of 1979 at off-Broadway’s ORPHEUM THEATER.
In 1980, Maxwell, along with Alan J. Schuster, produced Bloolips, an English drag review, to great success.
In 1981, they co-produced Key Exchange, a break-out, off-Broadway hit at the ORPHEUM THEATER. They followed that with a Los Angeles Production starring TV star Kate Jackson. Maxwell produced the film Key Exchange for 20th Century Fox in 1984.
In 1982, Maxwell and Schuster produced the Broadway Musical Blues In The Night which was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical (conceived and directed by Sheldon Epps). In 1983 and 1985 respectively, they produced national tours of the show, the first with Della Reese and the second with Eartha Kitt (both productions were directed by Mr. Epps). The 1983 Production opened the New Orleans World’s Fair.
In 1984, Maxwell co-produced the play To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday at the CIRCLE IN THE SQUARE THEATRE in Greenwich Village, NYC. The play won the prestigious Oppenheimer Award for Best Play of the Season. In 1996, Gillian was released as a film starring Peter Gallagher, Claire Danes, and Michelle Pfeiffer.
In 1987, Maxwell co-produced the performance piece The Garden of Earthly Delights off-Broadway. The production won The Drama Desk Award.
In 1987, Maxwell and Schuster Produced Blues in the Night at the Donmar Warehouse in London, which they successfully moved to the PICCADILLY THEATRE in London’s West End where it enjoyed a two-year run. The production received two Olivier nominations, including one for Best Musical (directed by Mr. Epps). Producing alone in 1988, Maxwell formed a partnership with the Japanese media conglomerate TV Asahi to remount Blues in the Night once again in NYC. Following its run in NY, the production played Tokyo and Kyoto for an aggregate 16-week run.
In 1985, Maxwell co-produced the new play Eden Court, a comedy about the fear of turning thirty.
In 1983, Maxwell and Schuster bought an abandoned tin can factory on Minetta Lane in the West Village of NYC and converted it to the largest off-Broadway Theater in NYC at the time. The theater opened in 1984 with a revival of Balm and Gilead by Landford Wilson, which was directed by John Malkovich.
In 1986, Maxwell and Schuster, in a co-venture with London’s LYRIC HAMMERSMITH, presented the musical Angry Housewives, directed by Mr. Maxwell. In September of 1986, Angry Housewives opened off-Broadway at the MINETTA LANE THEATRE in NYC, again under Maxwell’s direction.
In 1987, Maxwell co-produced the hit West End Play Bouncers by John Godber at the MINETTA LANE THEATRE.
In 1987, Maxwell optioned the iconic novel The Chosen by Chaim Potok in order to adapt the book into a musical. The show opened in January of 1988.
In 1989, Maxwell became a founding owner in “The Senior Professional Baseball Association,” an eight-team league based in Florida. The league featured ex-major leaguers, many All Stars, and several Hall of Fame players.
In 1991, he co-produced Marvin’s Room by Scott McPherson at the MINETTA LANE THEATRE. The play was a big hit and won the Drama Desk award for Best Play. Paramount produced the film version starring Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, and Leonardo DiCaprio.
In 1992, Maxwell co-produced Mamet’s Oleanna at off-Broadway’s Orpheum Theater. The play was nominated for the 1993 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play. William H. Macy was nominated for the 1993 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play.
In 1993, Maxwell co-produced the play Jeffrey by Paul Rudnick at the MINETTA LANE THEATRE. The play was a big hit and was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Best Play of the year. Maxwell co-produced the film version starring Patrick Stewart, Sigourney Weaver, and Nathan Lane. The film was distributed by Orion Pictures.
In 1994, Maxwell co-produced the percussive phenomenon STOMP at the ORPHEUM THEATER. The performance piece won the Drama Desk Award for “Unique Theatrical Experience.”
That same year, Maxwell produced the Broadway revival of the classic musical comedy, Damn Yankees, starring Bebe Neuwirth and Victor Garber. The show was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical and won for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.
At the conclusion of Mr. Garber’s contract, Mr. Maxwell arranged for the legendary Jerry Lewis to replace him. Mr. Lewis was making his Broadway debut! He then followed his triumphant Broadway run with a two-year national tour, playing every major venue throughout the states. Mr. Maxwell produced the tour. Following its run in the US, the musical opened in London’s West End at the ADELPHI THEATRE in May of 1997. The British production received excellent notices, as well as Olivier Nominations for Best Musical, Best Actor in a Musical for Mr. Lewis, and Best Actress in a Musical for Cynthia Nixon.
Das Barbecu opened at the Minetta Lane Theatre in October 1994. It was nominated for the 1995 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. The actress Julie Johnson won the 1995 Theatre World Award for her performance.
Throughout 1994-1997, Maxwell co-produced a number of productions at the Union Square Theatre. These included:
- Vita and Virginia, starring Vanessa Redgrave and Playwright, Eileen Atkins. The production won numerous awards including the 1995 Lucille Lortel Award – Outstanding Actress: Eileen Atkins. The 1995 Obie Award for Performance: Vanessa Redgrave and Eileen Atkins. It was also nominated for the 1995 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.
- The Olivier Award winning Moscow Stations, starring Tom Courtney in 1995.
- The Amazing Metrano, starring Art Metrano in 1996.
- Born to Sing in 1996.
- Three-For-All in 1997.
In 1994, Maxwell produced the films Hand Gun, starring Treat Williams, and Lipstick Camera, starring Corey Feldman. Then in 1999, the film Spin the Bottle, a romantic comedy directed by Michael Andrew Pascal.
Jam on the Groove opened at the Minetta Lane Theatre in November 1995. The production won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Choreography. Subsequently, the production went on a world tour, sponsored by Calvin Klein jeans.
In 1995, Maxwell produced the stage version of the classic motion picture On the Waterfront on Broadway.
Maxwell also produced the Broadway Musical Play On! with music and lyrics by Duke Ellington, which received three Tony nominations, including Best Musical (directed by Mr. Epps).
In 1998, Maxwell produced the Broadway production More to Love at the EUGENE O’NEILL THEATRE, starring Rob Bartlett.
Mitchell Maxwell produced Dinner with Friends by Donald Margulies in 1999. The play received universally glowing reviews with the New York Times referring to it as “the play for our time”. In 2000, the play won the PULITZER PRIZE for Drama, as well as the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play. Dinner with Friends was adapted into a major motion picture for HBO, directed by five-time Oscar nominee Norman Jewison.
In 1999, Maxwell co-produced Paul Rudnick’s play The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told.
In 2001, Maxwell acquired the rights to the classic musical Bells are Ringing written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, with music by Jule Styne. The show was nominated for three Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical.
In the spring of 2001, Maxwell formed a new production company: Sibling Entertainment, Inc. Under its banner, Maxwell produced the musical version of the classic film Summer ’42. The musical opened in September 2001 to excellent reviews and a strong box office. (Its run cut short by the events of 9/11).
Maxwell, under Sibling’s banner, presented the new musical Once Around the Sun at the ZIPPER THEATRE, off-Broadway in New York City.
In 2003, Maxwell acquired the DENVER CIVIC THEATRE, in Denver, Colorado, to develop shows for New York City. The first show he developed there was the musical Brooklyn which, following a successful run in Denver, opened a year later in a co-production at the PLYMOUTH THEATRE on Broadway in 2004.
In 2005, Maxwell approached the women’s sorority the Red Hat Society, an organization dedicated to woman over fifty with the mantra “it’s not how old you are, it’s how you’re old” and developed the musical Hats! about their philosophy. The musical (whose score was written by women composer/lyricists over fifty and all recipients of either the Oscar, Grammy, or Tony) opened at the DENVER CIVIC THEATRE to rave notices and subsequently played a tour across the country in conjunction with the Harrah’s Hotel chain, playing major cities including New Orleans, Nashville, and Chicago. It then played an extended run at Harrah’s Showroom in Las Vegas.
In 2007, in addition to producing theatrical productions, Maxwell entered the exploding world of Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). With Russian fight manager Vadim Finkelstein, Maxwell formed M-1 Global and signed the number one Mixed Martial Artist in the world at that time, Fedor Emelianenko.
Upon returning to the United States, Maxwell continued his work as a producer, developing the controversial musical White Noise and produced it in New Orleans in the fall of 2009.
In 2010, Maxwell began writing his first novel Little Did I Know about his early days in show business. Little Did I Know received wonderful reviews and was a big success.
In November 2011, The Story Plant Publishing Company, under Lou Aronica’s management, partnered with Mitchell Maxwell to expand the prestigious library previously created by Mr. Aronica.
In 2012, Maxwell produced and directed the original musical The City Club Off-Broadway at the MINETTA LANE THEATRE.
In 2012, Maxwell ghost-wrote a novel based on the lifelong practice of a legendary sex therapist, Dr. Manny Rich, entitled Love, Lust, and Whatever.
In 2015, Maxwell produced the movie Tarnished Notes which was based on a novel from The Story Plant’s library. Maxwell directed the production, which was shot in North Carolina and was released directly to streaming networks.
In 2016, The Story Plant, under Maxwell’s direction, developed a stage play of one of their highly regarded novels This is Rage as part of The Connecticut Repertory Theatre Development Program. Due to the political nature of the novel, and with the presidential elections on the horizon, he elected to release the work as an Audio Drama podcast. This is Rage found success in this medium, spurring 700,000 downloads in its first six weeks on Apple Podcast.
Mr. Maxwell followed the success of This Is Rage with the audio drama, Rewrites, by Tawni O’Dell. The successful 7 episode series told the story of a young man who was a true lover of the written word and feared that it was losing its import, replaced by text and emojis. In turn, he seeks to create a reality TV show about how writers create their magic. The series found great success due to its humor, insight, and passion for a great novel.
In 2019, prior to the pandemic, Maxwell produced New York Times Bestselling author Tawni O’Dell’s play When it Happens to You, based on her personal experience following the sexual assault on her daughter and the tragic consequences that followed. The play opened to excellent reviews and was being sold to a major VOD network before the pandemic started and everything came to an abrupt halt.
In late 2019, Maxwell produced The Thursday Night Club, another Story Plant title, based on a novel by Steven Manchester as an Audio Drama. The Thursday Night Club received five-star notices on Apple Podcast and in March of 2021 concluded shooting as a feature film.
That same year he produced the musical version of his novel Little Did I Know, with a score by multiple Tony winner Doug Bestermen and Oscar/Grammy winner Dean Pitchford. Due to lockdown LDIK was released in March 2020 as an Audio Drama Podcast. LDIK, at that time, became one of the most successful podcasts of all time upon its release, climbing to number three on Apple Charts where it remained in the top forty podcasts throughout 2020.
Additionally, during lockdown in March of 2020, Maxwell and Aronica presented the podcast Closing the Distance featuring Kathleen Turner, William Hurt, Jason Alexander, Tony Danza, Kelli O’Hara, and Eden Brolin, with many of the scripts being written by New York Times best-selling author Tawni O’Dell. Due to the success of the podcast Closing the Distance, Maxwell filmed a TV pilot using contactless camera equipment and directed the production with the use of a remote camera.
In October of 2020, Maxwell and his crew created a dramatic docu-series, Covid America, where he and his team set out to capture the true stories of Americans living through Covid: in big cities and small, from metropolitan areas to rural farmland. The series captured the true spirit and hope of our country’s character. The show was sold to international media conglomerate Boat Rocker Media in March of 2021.
In the Spring of 2021, Maxwell asked author Tawni O’Dell to adapt Closing The Distance into a stage play for a Broadway production and retitled it Windows, which is now slated for an early 2023 debut.
In March of 2022, Maxwell ended his relationship with The Story Plant in amicable fashion and formed MMaxwell Media, LLC.
Under the banner of this new company, he optioned the script Pay The Writer by Tawni O’Dell for production as a Limited VOD series and her screenplay Irrelevant for production as a feature film. Both projects are well into development.
More to come!