Interview: Phil Geoffrey Bond Producer of SIMPLY STREISAND at NJPAC on 2/6

Simply Streisand will visit the Chase Room at New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) on February 6th for two shows, one at 6:00 pm and one at 8:30 pm. The performances will be a celebration of all things Babs and will trace the beginnings of her incredible career from the cabarets of Greenwich Village to her mega-stardom. The show is hosted and produced by Phil Geoffrey Bond. Bond has assembled a star-studded group of performers that include Alexis Cole, Natalie Douglas, Molly Pope, Kelli Rabke and Lucia Spina. Broadwayworld.com interviewed Phil Geoffrey Bond about his career and Simply Streisand.

Phil Geoffrey Bond is a seven-time MAC, two-time Bistro and one-time Nightlife Award-winner. From 1998-2001, he was an Assistant Producer on the Broadway production of The Lion King, also opening new productions in Los Angeles, London and Japan. He has served as Director of Programming at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre (2001-2006), The Laurie Beechman Theatre (2006 - 2011), and 54 Below (2011 - 2014), creating a myriad of award-winning series and performances, including 54 Sings and Sondheim Unplugged, the long-running NYC revue now in it's sixth season, which he continues to produce and host. His debut collection of short stories, All the Sad Young Men, was released in February, 2010 and his celebrated book, My Friend, the Cat, based on the live and award-winning stage show, is currently available online and in bookstores. His play, The Citadel, was developed at the Sundance Theatre Lab before an off-off Broadway run in New York, and his works My Queer Youth, The Disney Diaries, My Roaring 20s's and Small Town Confessions enjoyed runs in midtown Manhattan. In 1993, he was awarded the Presidential Medallion from President Clinton when he was named Presidential Scholar in the Arts.

When did you first become interested in performing arts/theatre/writing and tell us about an early experience?

My mother was in a musical at our local community theatre in Indiana and I begged the Director to let me run props (or do ANYTHING). I loved everything about the theatre - the smell, the camaraderie, the make up, the headsets, the music, the ropes that open the curtains - all of it. I'm sure I drove the grown ups crazy with my enthusiasm, but I couldn't help myself. The theatre was more my home than my home. I made sense in the theatre and nowhere else, really. Anyway, after establishing myself as the county's best Props Manager, I then ventured onstage and eventually would write for it. I was a fat kid, so I got to play Santa Claus a lot, and then I went on to more challenging roles and was fortunate enough to have my own plays produced locally and in various theatres while I was still a teenager and win a bunch of awards. That was really formative. The first time I heard an audience laugh at something I'd written, I was smitten for life. I'm still not over it.

Tell us about your education.

I was very fortunate to come out of a public education system that still valued the arts. We were required to take music and art in elementary school, and then in high school I was blessed with one of those incredible teacher/student relationships with my drama teacher, Ray LeBlanc, who really is a master at his craft. He instilled professionalism in all of us and it's a lesson I carry with me everyday. Then it was onto NYU's Tisch School, where I was the first student ever to double major in Acting and Dramatic Writing. It was tough, but I made it through. I was blessed with some remarkable teachers - just remarkable. Some not so remarkable but, if you're smart, you let those fall by the wayside. I studied at Playwrights Horizons Theatre School where Bob Moss, who founded Playwrights Horizons and was not only my Directing teacher but head of the school, invented a playwriting curriculum just for me.

What performers have inspired your career?

In terms of comic timing, which is kind of my thing, Carol Burnett and Bea Arthur are the absolute best. I've had the pleasure of meeting them both and explaining this to them, although I think I may have just weirded them out. Also, there are two celebrities/artists with whom I enjoyed particularly nice friendships - Stephen Schwartz and Joan Rivers. Both of them taught me so much about not only commitment to my craft (they are/were both consummate artists and professionals), but about kind and gracious living in general, particularly as it relates to my fellow artists. I'm very blessed and grateful to know/have known them both, and to have learned from them.

But if you wanted to go down the list of amazing performances I've had the thrill of witnessing, among others: Chita Rivera in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Uta Hagen in Mrs. Klein, Carol Channing in Hello Dolly, Mercedes Ruehl in The Rose Tattoo, Glenn Close in Sunset Boulevard, Patti LuPone in Master Class and Gypsy, Elaine Stritch in A Delicate Balance, Tonya Pinkins in The Wild Party, Ann Reinking & Bebe Newirth in Chicago, Brian Dennehey & Elizabeth Franz in Death of a Salesman, Donna Murphy in Passion, Cherry Jones in A Moon for the Misbegotten, Nathan Lane in The Man Who Came to Dinner, Lily Tomlin in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, Alan Cumming in Design for Living, Bea Arthur on Broadway, Elaine Stritch at Liberty, Kathleen Turner in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Denis O'Hare in Take Me Out, the brilliance that is Jason Robert Brown's score for The Bridges of Madison County and oh, the list goes on....

What have been some of your favorite projects?

Well, working with people I've grown up idolizing has been amazing. At 54 Below (now Feinstein's/54 Below), I got to work with and hang out with everyone in the world - Patti LuPone, Barbara Cook, Bebe Newirth, Victor Garber, Rebecca Luker, Charles Busch, Tonya Pinkins, Linda Lavin, Donna McKechnie, Marilyn Maye, Sheldon Harnick, Andrea McArdle, Liz Callaway, Ann Hampton Callaway, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Maureen McGovern, Jason Robert Brown, Lee Roy Reams, Henry Krieger, Joanna Gleason, Chip Zien - I mean, it's almost easier to tell you about the folks we DIDN'T get to have with us during my time there. So 54 was a big deal in my life. I remember when we had Patti for New Year's Eve. Between shows, we hung out in the green room playing games (which she led), and I thought, "how the hell did this happen?"

But I'm probably most proud of Sondheim Unplugged, the little show that could, as I like to call it. It's a show that I wrote/direct/produce/host every month. We've been running for 5 years now. Once a month, some of Broadway and cabaret's best (we've established quite a little company), come together at Feinstein's/54 Below to sing their favorite Sondheim tunes accompanied by piano only. I fill the audience in on Sondheimian tidbits (I happen to know a lot about Sondheim). We have a very loyal audience who come back show after show and we also get a healthy crowd of tourists. I just love it. "It gives me purpose, gives me joy," to quote Mr. S himself. I grew up listening to Sondheim cast albums over and over (who didn't?), so to get to do this show over such a long period of time, and with so many original cast members as our special guests, has been a unique blessing. I even got to meet Sondheim! Although he wouldn't take a photo with me (sniff).

Tell us how it felt to be honored by President Clinton.

Well, I was 18 years old so - that was long ago. It was a lovely experience, Clinton was very kind to me, I got to see the White House and spend a great week in Georgetown, I got to read some of my work at the Smithsonian... good times. It was a great validation of the work I was doing at the time, and encouraged me to keep going. I hope to see another Clinton in the White House upon my next visit.

What attracts you to the work of Barbra Streisand.

I first heard the dulcet tones of Ms. Streisand in the womb, I think. My mother was/is a fan. I grew up listening to ALL of her albums (yes, albums) and feeling such a connection with her. There is something about her with which I identify so strongly. Not just her extraordinary talent, but her passion, her determination to overcome the odds and lead an artistically productive life. She inspires me, and I know that's true of a lot of us. Not only does she have impeccable taste when choosing material and in her interpretations, she's a brilliant actress and that comes across in every note. Every time we perform Simply Streisand (it's never the same show twice, we always change it up because there is so much material from which to choose), I only pray that we can do her justice. Luckily, I have the best of the VERY best in the cast who share my obsession. NJPAC is going to be a blast! I can't wait to share this music and these musicians and these vocalists with that crowd.

Tell us about working with NJPAC.

See above. But I could add: "NJPAC is SO accessible to NYC - it's easier to get to than many parts of Brooklyn, Queens, etc. Every time we're fortunate enough to work there, everyone is SO accommodating and kind. And happily, the audiences are the most gracious. I love chatting with them after the show."

What advice do you have for young people who wish to enter the arts as a profession?

I'm not sure I'm one to advise anyone, I'd be more interested in listening to what they have to say. I suppose, if asked, I would just say: follow your instinct. If you are absolutely certain that there is NOTHING ELSE IN THE WORLD you want to do, then pursue your passion. But as Oprah would say, "do you.' No one's producing your plays? Produce them yourself. No one's casting you? Cast yourself. You're not getting the breaks you think you deserve? Create your own breaks. Don't paint yourself into a corner thinking you can only do or be one thing, artistically - explore everything you have to offer.

For the future?

I plan to retire to my own private island and spend my days petting cats and learning to macrame. We'll see how that goes. I'm bringing my showtune-laden iPod, however.

You can follow Phil Geoffrey Bond on social media at Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

To purchase tickets for Simply Streisand at NJPAC on the evening of Saturday, February 6th, visit http://www.njpac.org/events/detail/simply-streisand-1 or call 1.888.GO.NJPAC. NJPAC is located at 1 Center Street, in the heart of Newark's vibrant performing arts district. It is easily accesses by mass transit and there is plenty of parking available nearby. For more information on upcoming events at NJPAC, visit http://www.njpac.org/.

Photo Credit: Courtesy of Phil Geoffrey Bond

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