From No-Name Producer To The Queen of Broadway: Fran Weissler

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Big Shot

32 episodes

1 week ago

If the walls of Kosher delis could speak, they would (schm)ooze invaluable wisdom and endless laughs. Harley Finkelstein (Shopify) and David Segal (DAVIDsTEA) are Jewish entrepreneurs influenced by the greats who came before them. But, they realized no one was archiving the best behind-the-scenes stories ever told. Before time was up, they set out on a passion project to preserve the memories, mishaps, and wins of the people who have seen it all. Big Shot tells the stories of the people that shaped an entire generation.

Entrepreneurship

Business

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Entrepreneurship

Business

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From No-Name Producer To The Queen of Broadway: Fran Weissler

Big Shot

1 hour 21 minutes 7 seconds

1 year ago

From No-Name Producer To The Queen of Broadway: Fran Weissler

We’re back with Season 2 of Big Shot! In this episode of Big Shot, we're joined by Fran Weissler, a seven-time Tony award-winning producer and one-half of the dynamic duo behind Chicago, the longest-running American musical. Fran's journey epitomizes Jewish chutzpah, marked by bold choices—from leaving her first marriage to making decisive moves in her Broadway career. Today, Fran shares with us stories from her journey, including breaking into Broadway at the age of 50 and producing Othello with a star-studded cast featuring James Earl Jones and Christopher Plummer. We also talk about her successful marriage and business partnership of 55 years, how Fran navigated challenges working with chauvinists and demanding actors, and how she finally started to slow down a little bit at the age of 90.

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In This Episode We Cover:

(02:35) Fran’s childhood and life before Broadway

(07:04) Why Fran decided to end her first marriage

(08:59) How Fran met Barry and got started in theater

(15:02) The early days of NAMCO producing plays for Catholic schools

(19:00) Fran’s first Broadway show, Othello, with James Earl Jones

(21:52) How Fran got Christopher Plummer to play Iago

(31:34) What it was like to win a Tony for Othello

(33:33) How firing Peter Coe accelerated Fran’s career as a producer

(45:30) Fran’s chutzpah

(48:20) How Fran and Barry balance each other out as a team