Bob Greenblatt, president of NBC and instrumental in bringing SMASH and THE SOUND OF MUSIC to the small screen, has set his sights, once again, on the stage.
In a new interview with Variety, Greenblatt has confirmed he's offered up "enhancement funds" for Denver Center Theatre Company's upcoming revised production of Meredith Willson's 1960 musical THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, directed by Tony winner Kathleen Marshall, and starring Beth Malone.
Though future plans for the production have yet to be announced, with Greenblatt backing, a future on Broadway could be in the cards. He previously produced this year's 'Best Musical' Tony winner A GENTLEMAN'S GUIDE TO LOVE AND MURDER and Dolly Parton's 9 TO 5.
THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN will open the 2014-15 DCTC season, running September 12 - October 26, 2014. The production was previously workshopped under Marshall's direction at the 2009 Colorado New Play Summit.
Greenblatt joined NBCUniversal in January 2011 as Chairman, NBC Entertainment and reports to Steve Burke. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of primetime, late night, and scripted daytime programming, business affairs, marketing, public relations, scheduling, West Coast research and digital operations. He also oversees Universal Television, which was re-established as a stand-alone studio in 2011.
Prior to NBC, Greenblatt was President of Entertainment for Showtime Networks, Inc., where he supervised a slate of original programming that dramatically altered the Showtime brand and re-positioned the company as a leader in premium cable television. Over his seven-year tenure, the audience subscription base increased 52% - to a then-record high of 19 million subscribers in 2010 - and profitability more than doubled.
At Showtime, he was responsible for such hits as "Weeds," "Dexter," "Shameless," "The Borgias," "Episodes," "Nurse Jackie," "The Tudors," "Californication," "United States of Tara," "The Big C," "This American Life," and "Tracey Ullman's State of the Union," among others. These shows and their actors were honored with multiple Golden Globe, Emmy, AFI, SAG, DGA, PGA, WGA and Peabody Awards; and in 2010 alone, they collectively garnered a record-breaking number of both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the network.
Prior to Showtime, Greenblatt was an award-winning producer of over a dozen series on various networks. The highlight of those was "Six Feet Under," for which he was awarded the 2002 Golden Globe Award for Best Television Drama Series. It also garnered dozens of Emmy Award nominations, including four for Outstanding Drama Series, and it won the 2003 Producers Guild Award, three GLAAD Media Awards and the George Foster Peabody Award. He also produced two Emmy-nominated miniseries: "Elvis" for CBS (starring Golden Globe winner Jonathan Rhys Meyers) and Gregory Nava's "American Family" for PBS.
In 2011, he received the Stephen F. Kolzak Award from GLAAD. Greenblatt is a member of the Broadway League of Theatrical Producers, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, and the Producers Guild of America.
Photo by: Andrew MacPherson/NBC
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