Talent For
nt
Former Oak Parker
Jeffrey Seller
produces Broadway's
hottest musical.
J EWISH NEWS
ALICE BURDICK SCHWEIGER SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
62
Producing Rent was a risk; it is not a mainstream mu-
sical. The rock-opera, based on Puccini's La Boheme, is
about present-day Bohemia — Manhattan's East Vil-
lage — where multiracial struggling artists of various
sexual orientations try to make their mark while strug-
gling with AIDS and poverty. But Seller had the fore-
sight to recognize its potential.
Yet, ultimately, the play's success and the Tony Award
were bittersweet. Jonathan Larson, the composer ofRent,
died just short of his 36th birthday of an aortic aneurysm,
just as previews were about to begin.
PHOTO BY JOAN MARCUS AND CAROL ROSEGG
n a very warm summer after-
noon in 1982, Jeffrey Seller
leaned back on a lawn chair in
his Oak Park back yard and day-
dreamed about a career in the
New York theater. He had re-
cently graduated from Oak Park
High School and was about to
enter the University of Michigan
in the -FAIL Looking up at the bright June sky, Seller tried
to imagine how he could get from his middle-class sub-
urban Detroit home to New York City, where great mu-
sicals like Chorus Line and Evita are born.
Recalling that moment from his office in the middle
of New York City's theater district, Seller, 31, talks en-
thusiastically and beams with a contagious smile. His
slim, angular build and curly, blondish-brown hair add
to his appeal, and he presents himself with an air of con-
fidence without seeming brash or overbearing. "I re-
member the day very clearly, and it scared me because
I didn't know how to make my dream happen," he says.
But he did make it happen, and a little over a decade
later, he walked across the stage in front of millions of
television viewers to accept the coveted Tony Award for
Best Musical as a producer of the acclaimed Broadway
musical Rent.
"When they called my name, I jumped out of my chair,"
says Seller, who used to host Tony parties when he was
in high school. "I was crumbling into a ball in my seat
from utter tension, waiting to hear them announce the
winner. And when I heard my name, it was almost a sur-
real experience.
"People were jumping up and down on the stage and
celebrating everything we had done over the last couple
of years. My parents were sitting in the balcony, and it
was such a thrill." This year's Tony Awards, which will
be broadcast 9-11 p.m. Sunday evening on CBS, will open
with a number from Rent.
Seller is justifiably proud of his accomplishments.
Rent, hailed as the Hair of the '90s, quickly became a
phenomenon and the hottest ticket on Broadway in years.
And every aspect of its production fell under Seller's aus-
pices. His job as producer is similar to that of a CEO of
a large cotporation: He is chief strategist for financing,
marketing and the creative team.
Jesse L. Martin and Wilson Jermaine Heredia perform the songs of
Jonathan Larson in Rent.
"It was very sad, not having Jonathan there," says
Seller. 'Winning the Tony would have meant so much
to him. Jonathan's unexpected death was horrifying, and
it changed our perspective.
"His death seemed so wrapped up in the theme and
plot of the show: A composer struggles as a bohemian
for 15 years to pursue his dream. And what does he go
and do? He finally writes his prize show and dies before
the first performance. In the play, Roger, the lead char-
acter who has AIDS, sings 'One Song Glory/one song be-
fore I go.' Jonathan heard that song in rehearsal that
morning and died that night."
Tragically, for Jonathan Larson, Rent turned out to
be the grand finale to a brief and promising creative life.
Ironically, for Seller, it was the launching pad for a bril-
liant career.
I
t was a Purim play at Temple Israel that sparked Sell-
er's initial interest in the theater. "Temple Israel used
to do these incredible Purim plays, where they would
adapt the Purim story to Broadway musicals," recounts
Seller. He celebrated his bar mitzvah, was confirmed
and graduated from religious school at Temple Israel.
"When I was in the fourth grade, I tried out for the
Purim play and wound up in the chorus. That year the
production was South Pacific, and Queen Esther was
singing, `I'm gonna wash that man right out of my hair,'
about King Ahasuerus.
"They also cleverly took a number from H.M.S.
Pinafore. That was the first time I had any exposure to
Gilbert and Sullivan. After that, I was hooked."
Carrying his passion over to Lessenger Elementary
and Frost Middle School, the future producer started
writing plays and participating in school concerts. "I was
pretty unstoppable," says Seller, who also sang in the
children's chorus in the Michigan Opera Theatre's pro-
duction of Carmen.
'My interest in the theater was voracious, and my mu-
sic teacher, Miss Shively, suggested I join a communi-
ty theater group in Clawson called the Stagecrafters,
which I did."
But acting in plays wasn't enough for Seller. He was
fascinated by the whole production process. "I wanted
to know who picks the plays, how we get publicity, who
writes the press releases. So from seventh grade on, I