Emanuel "Manny" Azenberg (born January 22, 1934) is an American theatre producer and general manager whose professional relationship with playwright Neil Simon spans thirty-three years.
Azenberg was born in The Bronx, the son of Hannah (née Kleiman) and Charles Joshua Azenberg.[1] He attended the Bronx High School of Science. He became interested in the theatre after seeing his uncle, former Yiddish theatre actor Wolfe Barzell, perform in the 1948 play Skipper Next to God by Jan de Hartog. After studying at New York University and serving time in the United States Army, he became the assistant company manager for The Legend of Lizzie, an ill-fated 1959 play that closed after two performances. He worked for David Merrick and Alexander H. Cohen before earning his first producing credit with The Lion in Winter in 1966.[2]
In an interview with The New York Times, Azenberg observed, "I am not a deep thinker. I am not a writer, though I recognize good ideas when I see them. I am there to service people. A producer creates an atmosphere — or tries to — that is genuinely comfortable, so the best creative work can take place. You try to keep peace, because there are so many disparate groups within the theatre."[2]
Azenberg also has taught theatre at Duke University for two decades.[2] He was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2009.[4] He is married to Lani Sundsten, a one-time dancer and the original stage manager for Cats, and he is the father of five children: Karen, Lisa, Rebecca, Jessica, and Joshua.
emanuel, azenberg, emanuel, manny, azenberg, born, january, 1934, american, theatre, producer, general, manager, whose, professional, relationship, with, playwright, neil, simon, spans, thirty, three, years, contents, life, career, awards, references, external. Emanuel Manny Azenberg born January 22 1934 is an American theatre producer and general manager whose professional relationship with playwright Neil Simon spans thirty three years Contents 1 Life and career 2 Awards 3 References 4 External linksLife and career editAzenberg was born in The Bronx the son of Hannah nee Kleiman and Charles Joshua Azenberg 1 He attended the Bronx High School of Science He became interested in the theatre after seeing his uncle former Yiddish theatre actor Wolfe Barzell perform in the 1948 play Skipper Next to God by Jan de Hartog After studying at New York University and serving time in the United States Army he became the assistant company manager for The Legend of Lizzie an ill fated 1959 play that closed after two performances He worked for David Merrick and Alexander H Cohen before earning his first producing credit with The Lion in Winter in 1966 2 Azenberg first met Neil Simon in 1963 when the two played softball with Robert Redford who was appearing in Simon s play Barefoot in the Park at the time 2 Their professional association began with The Sunshine Boys in 1972 and continued with The Good Doctor God s Favorite Chapter Two They re Playing Our Song I Ought to Be in Pictures Brighton Beach Memoirs Biloxi Blues Broadway Bound Lost in Yonkers Jake s Women The Goodbye Girl and Laughter on the 23rd Floor among others 3 Additional Azenberg credits include Mark Twain Tonight George M The Rothschilds Two Gentlemen of Verona Ain t Supposed to Die a Natural Death Sticks and Bones That Championship Season The Wiz Ain t Misbehavin Whose Life is it Anyway Master Harold and the Boys The Real Thing Sunday in the Park with George A Day in the Death of Joe Egg Jerome Robbins Broadway The Iceman Cometh Rent Movin Out Stones in His Pockets and Baz Luhrmann s adaptation of La Boheme 3 In an interview with The New York Times Azenberg observed I am not a deep thinker I am not a writer though I recognize good ideas when I see them I am there to service people A producer creates an atmosphere or tries to that is genuinely comfortable so the best creative work can take place You try to keep peace because there are so many disparate groups within the theatre 2 Azenberg also has taught theatre at Duke University for two decades 2 He was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2009 4 He is married to Lani Sundsten a one time dancer and the original stage manager for Cats and he is the father of five children Karen Lisa Rebecca Jessica and Joshua Awards editThis section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Emanuel Azenberg news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message 1978 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Ain t Misbehavin 1978 Tony Award for Best Musical Ain t Misbehavin 1980 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play Children of a Lesser God 1980 Tony Award for Best Play Children of a Lesser God 1982 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play Master Harold and the Boys 1982 Tony Award for Best Play Master Harold and the Boys 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Sunday in the Park with George 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play The Real Thing 1984 Tony Award for Best Play The Real Thing 1985 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival A Day in the Death of Joe Egg 1985 Tony Award for Best Revival A Day in the Death of Joe Egg 1985 Tony Award for Best Play Biloxi Blues 1989 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Jerome Robbins Broadway 1989 Tony Award for Best Musical Jerome Robbins Broadway 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play Lost in Yonkers 1991 Tony Award for Best New Play Lost in Yonkers 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play The Iceman Cometh 1999 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play The Iceman Cometh 2002 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival of a Play Private Lives 2002 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play Private Lives 2012 Special Tony Award Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre 5 References edit All About Jewish Theatre A Life in the Theatre Emanuel Manny Azenberg Archived from the original on 2010 11 02 Retrieved 2009 06 01 a b c d Emanuel Azenburg at JewishTheatre com Archived 2010 11 02 at the Wayback Machine a b Emanuel Azenberg at the Internet Broadway Database Hamlisch Lane Birch Tunick and Azenberg Among Theater Hall of Fame Inductees www playbill com Archived from the original on March 10 2014 Retrieved March 9 2014 Emanuel Azenberg to receive lifetime achievement Tony Award www cbsnews com Retrieved 2020 03 01 External links editEmanuel Azenberg at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Emanuel Azenberg amp oldid 1195325867, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
