BWW TV EXCLUSIVE: BACKSTAGE WITH RICHARD RIDGE: Craig Zadan & Neil Meron Talk Film, Stage & SMASH Plus - Daniel Radcliffe!

Today, Richard talks to Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, producers of critically acclaimed and award-winning feature films, television movies, series and Broadway productions. The dynamic duo spoke to Richard Ridge backstage before being honored at The New York Musical Theatre Festival Gala earlier this month. HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS and HARRY POTTER star Daniel Radcliffe was on hand to present Neil and Craig with their award and spoke to us exclusively as well about how they got him involved with the production and more!

All totaled, their films and television movies have garnered six Academy Awards, five Golden Globes, eleven Emmy Awards, and two Peabodys. For their work in television, their movies have amassed 69 Emmy nominations. Their work in theater has received 12 Tony nominations, including 2 wins. Their work has also received five Grammy nominations, including one win.

Their film and television projects include DROP DEAD DIVA (created by Josh Berman, and starring Brooke Elliott and Margaret Cho), A RAISIN IN THE SUN (with Sean Combs, Phylicia Rashad, Audra McDonald and Sanaa Lathan), THE BUCKET LIST (starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman), HAIRSPRAY which was nominated for three Golden Globe Awards including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy), CHICAGO, (which won the Academy Award as Best Picture of the Year and nominated for thirteen Academy Awards, it won six. Nominated for seven Golden Globes, the film won three, including Best Motion Picture. CHICAGO has gone on to become Miramax’s highest grossing movie in the studio’s history, and was the first movie musical to win the Oscar for Best Picture in 34 years), Meredith Willson’S THE MUSIC MAN (starring Matthew Broderick and Kristin Chenoweth), LIFE WITH Judy Garland: ME AND MY SHADOWS (starring Judy Davis and Tammy Blanchard), The Beach Boys: AN AMERICAN FAMILY, ANNIE (starred Kathy Bates, won two Emmys, the Peabody Award, and the TV Guide Award for Favorite TV Movie or Miniseries), RODGERS AND HAMMERSTEIN’S CINDERELLA (starring Whitney Houston and Brandy), SERVING IN SILENCE: THE MARGARETHE CAMMERMEYER STORY (starring Glenn Close and Judy Davis), GYPSY ( starring Bette Midler) and more.

They are currently producing a highly-anticipated new television drama, SMASH, in collaboration with Steven Spielberg, Theresa Rebeck, Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, for DreamWorks TV and NBC, about the behind-the-scenes creation of a Broadway musical. It stars Debra Messing, Anjelica Huston, Megan Hilty and Katharine McPhee.

In 2010 they returned to their theater roots with the first-ever Broadway revival of the Neil Simon/Burt Bacharach/Hal David musical comedy, PROMISES, PROMISES starring Emmy Award winner Sean Hayes and Tony and Emmy Award winner Kristin Chenoweth. PROMISES, PROMISES was nominated for 4 Tony Awards (winning 1) as well as Best Musical Revival nominations from The Drama Desk Awards, The Drama League Awards, and the Outer Circle Critics Awards.They are currently represented on Broadway with a Tony winning hit 50th Anniversary revival of the Frank Loesser musical comedy, HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING starring Daniel Radcliffe and John Larroquette. The revival was nominated for 8 Tony Awards (winning 1), 4 Astaire Awards, 3 Drama League Awards, 5 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 5 Drama Desk awards.

Richard Ridge fell in love with the theatre at the age of five when he went through his parents record cabinet and stumbled upon their original cast album collection and the rest is history.He has toured the world as a performer and for the past twenty years he has been the host of the television program Broadway Beat and now, BACKSTAGE WITH RICHARD RIDGE.

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