56°
Both Brian Cromwell Smith’s kids perform in the children’s troop of Irvington’s Clocktower Players, and his wife, Keira, was in several high school musicals and even played Sandy in “Grease.”
“I have always enjoyed attending plays and musicals on Broadway,” said Smith. “Unfortunately my onstage talent is very limited, so producing was the only way I could ever be involved.”
Smith, whose full-time job is head trader at Blue Ridge Capital LLC. hedge fund company as well as serving as Mayor of Irvington, is making his producing debut with Broadway’s “It’s Only A Play” at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre through March 29.
Smith had invested in Ken Davenport's Broadway revival of "Godspell" a few years ago, and kept in touch.
“When he told me about ‘It's Only a Play’ I knew right away I wanted to be involved with a show with such a great cast,” said Smith.
The show features Tony Award winners Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane, Emmy Award winners Stockard Channing and Megan Mullally, Academy Award Winner Murray F. Abrams and Harry Potter’s Rupert Grint.
“’It's Only a Play’ is a comedic play all about the excitement and nerves associated with opening night of a play,” explained Smith.
“I hope they (the audience) will laugh,” said Smith. “I have never laughed out loud during a show the way I have with ‘It's Only a Play.’ Sometimes we just need to be entertained -- this show certainly delivers.”
Smith is currently working with Davenport on a few other shows. “One is a musical called ‘Getting the Band Back Together’ about a 40-year-old who gets laid off from a Wall Street job and moves home to New Jersey with his parents and gets his high school band back together,” explained Smith.
“I think I have a lot better understanding of all the things that go into a show from concept to opening night now that I've been in it," he added. "Theater is a very unique business and I look forward to learning a lot more about it.”
Click here to follow Daily Voice Tarrytown-SleepyHollow and receive free news updates.
