Bay Street Patrons Go Behind the Curtain with Stewart F. Lane

Bay Street Theater hosted a Broadway event and talkback with producer Stewart F. Lane. The group attended a performance of Pictures From Home at Roundabout Theatre's Studio 54, followed by a discussion of the show and the current state of Broadway and the performing arts.

In addition to being a six-time Tony Award-winning producer, Mr. Lane is a theater historian, playwright, and co-owner of the legendary Palace Theater, and, with his wife Bonnie Comley, is co-founder of www.BroadwayHD.com. Bay Street Theater is a not-for-profit professional regional theater in Sag Harbor, New York, founded by Sybil Christopher, Emma Walton Hamilton, and Stephen Hamilton in 1991.

Lane is a member of the Bay Street Board of Trustees and a producer on Pictures From Home. Lane shared the show's journey and explained that Pictures from Home is a memory play written by Sharr White based on the book Pictures from Home by photographer Larry Sultan. Larry Sultan, a professional photographer, photographed, interviewed, and journaled about his parents for over a decade. This body of work was then published in 1992 and adapted into the stage by Shar White. The limited-run play opened on Broadway with cast members Nathan Lane, Danny Burstein, and Zoë Wanamaker.

Bay Street Executive Director Tracy Mitchell and Artistic Director Scott Schwartz joined the conversation about changing audiences post-covid and sharing the upcoming Bay Street Theater season. Bay Street Theater, considered one of the country's preeminent regional theaters, has developed and premiered many shows that have gone on to receive Broadway, off-broadway, and international productions, including Nobody Don't Like Yogi, Hedda Gabler, Love Janis, If Love Were All, Full Gallop, Swingtime Canteen, and Three Hotels. This summer, Bay Street will present a world premiere of the new musical Double Helix by Madeline Myers and directed by Scott Schwartz.

Lane shared insights on his recent BroadwayHD release, which is the Broadway musical Mr. Saturday Night starring Billy Crystal. Lane produced the filming of the five-time Tony-nominated show, which streams exclusively on BroadwayHD. Lane also entertained the group with anecdotes from his many books and plays. He has written the critically acclaimed "Black Broadway: African Americans on the Great White Way" (Square One Publishers), "Jews on Broadway" (McFarland Publishers), "Let's Put on a Show"(Working Arts Library), and the plays In The Wings (published in spring 2008 by Hal Leonard), If It Was Easy (published by Performing Books and nominated for Best New Play by the American Theatre Critics Association), and the musical Back Home Again (with music and lyrics by John Denver) which he was awarded The 2011 John Denver Spirit Award for his work.

Bay Street's Tracy Mitchell stated, "Stewart, you are an incredible raconteur, along with all of your other talents!!! Everyone was very excited and could've listened to you for hours if we had the time."

For more information on Bay Street Theater, see www.BayStreet.org

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