Provided by the Bristol Township School District:
Credit: BTSD
Jeffrey Seller, a Tony Award winning American theatrical producer, virtually spoke to Harry S. Truman High School students in Honors Theatre Production and Theatre 4 classes. Seller is best known for his work on “Rent,” “Avenue Q,” “In the Heights” and “Hamilton,” as well as inventing Broadway’s first rush ticket system and policies.
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Seller even has a connection to Truman Drama as well. He gave the book “Drama High” to the cast of “Hamilton” on their opening night as a gift. He went on to purchase the rights to the book and produce the TV series “Rise,” inspired by the book and Truman Drama.
“I am appreciative of Jeffrey speaking to my students and me about his career and job responsibilities as a producer and how he relates to Truman theatre students due to so many similarities,” said Truman’s Drama Director Tracey Gatte. “His amazing career and what he is currently working on is such a great example of passion, hard work and communication skills, something we strive for and instill in our students in the theatre classes and after-school program. His empathy about the pandemic and sharing insight was an experience none of us will forget.”
Seller spoke to students about his beginning in the theatre world. After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1986, he moved to New York City where he worked as a publicist, booking agent and producer. With his business partner, Kevin McCollum, he produced three Best Musical Tony Award winning Broadway shows: “Rent,” “Avenue Q” and “In the Heights.”
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Next, Seller discussed his and McCollum’s idea for Broadway’s rush tickets. With increasingly expensive Broadway ticket prices, Seller and McCollum invented the first rush ticket policy early on in their production of “Rent.” Seller said they wanted to keep the show accessible for people “in their 20s and 30s, artists, Bohemians – the people for whom Jonathan Larson wrote the show.”
A select number of front row tickets were sold for $20 on a first come, first serve basis. Rush tickets became so popular that people began sleeping on the streets outside of theaters for a chance at the front of the line. Out of the concern for their safety, Seller and McCollum then created Broadway’s first lottery ticket policy, which kept cheap tickets accessible to a young audience by selling $20 tickets to the winners of a drawing.
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Together, Seller and McCollum also produced “De La Guarda,” Andrew Lippa’s “The Wild Party,” “High Fidelity,” the revival of “West Side Story,” and “Bengal Tiger at the Bagdad Zoo.” They also produced the 2005 film adaptation of Rent.
“I thought the conversation with Mr. Seller was very informative and insightful, and I was able to learn a lot about the producing side of Broadway that I didn’t know before. I’m thankful that he was able to take time out of his busy schedule to speak with our class,” said student Josh Rosenthal.
After working with Lin-Manuel Miranda on “In the Heights,” Seller produced Miranda’s newest show, “Hamilton,” which has gone on to receive widespread critical acclaim and commercial success. In June 2016, “Hamilton” received 11 Tony Awards out of a record-breaking 16 nominations, including a Best Musical win for Seller, his fourth Tony Award overall and his first since his separation from McCollum. Shortly after the debut of “Hamilton,” Seller directed a workshop of a musical made from Jules Feiffer’s young-adult novel, “The Man in the Ceiling.”
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“It was honestly such an honor to sit down with Mr. Seller and have him talk to us about his experience in producing, and what brings us together at the end of the day, which is theater. He was very empathetic with us and understanding. With everything going on in the world, he sees us, he hears us and he empathizes with us, and that was really nice to hear,” said student Lateefat Adewale. “I am very eager and excited to see what he has in store for the future.”
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