Douglas Denoff

Douglas Denoff
Born (1957-07-14) July 14, 1957
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)theatre producer
Writer
Parent(s)Bernice Levey Denoff
Sam Denoff
FamilySharon Shore (step-mother)

Douglas Denoff (born July 14, 1957) is an eight-time Tony Award-Nominated Broadway theatre producer, writer and entrepreneur. He won the Drama Desk Award as a producer and an Emmy Award for his work in television. In 2012, he was nominated for a Grammy Award. Through his company Sutton Square Entertainment, he develops and produces new musicals and plays.

Career

Denoff began his entertainment career in 1977 as the assistant to the producers of the CBS television series Hawaii Five-O, ultimately working as the associate producer overseeing post-production.

In 1980, he worked as the line producer of the ABC Television film A Time for Miracles. While working from home in the era before call-waiting and needing multiple phone lines, he salvaged an unused multi-line phone system for his own use. He subsequently formed a telephone interconnect company, Dencom Systems, Inc., installing business phone systems for commercial clients in the Los Angeles area. In 1992, Denoff formed an affiliated company, Fibernet, Inc. to resell the long-distance services of major carriers and provide statements. In 2003, Denoff began to downsize the company before relocating back to New York City.

Denoff received his first Tony nomination in 2008 as a producer of The 39 Steps, the longest-running play in over 7 years. Denoff was also lead producer on the revival of 39 Steps, which began performances at the Union Square Theatre on April 1, 2015, and ran until the theatre’s closing on January 3, 2016. Denoff supported the 2013 Tony Award-winning Best Play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, and received his second Tony nomination as a co-producer of the 2012 musical Nice Work If You Can Get It, starring Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara.

In 2012, Denoff co-produced the Grammy-nominated Original Cast Album of Nice Work If You Can Get It as the launch release of his new record label Shout! Broadway, in partnership with Shout! Factory. In 2013 they produced the 2012 Broadway cast album of Annie along with Thomas Z. Shepard, and have released the cast recording of Scandalous. He was lead producer of Handle with Care, the romantic comedy by author Jason Odell Williams, directed by Karen Carpenter. It had an extended run at the Westside Theatre in 2012–2013. Denoff also produced Carpenter's production of the play Witnessed by the World at 59E59.

Denoff was a lead producer of the play Clever Little Lies by Joe DiPietro in 2015. In 2016, he was a co-producer of the hit revival of Fiddler on the Roof at the Broadway Theatre, for which he received his third Tony nomination as a co-producer. He also co-produced David Mamet's China Doll starring Al Pacino. In 2017–2018 he was a co-producer of John Leguizamo's Latin History for Morons, for which he received his 4th Tony nomination and which recouped its investment in 14.5 weeks.

Beginning in 2018, Denoff was a co-producer of the musical Pretty Woman which opened August 16, 2018 and ran until August 18, 2019. Pretty Woman then had productions in Hamburg in 2019, the UK, and a North American tour which began in 2020. Denoff received his fifth Tony nomination for co-producing the revival of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song at the Second Stage Theater, which ran through January 6, 2019. He also co-produced the play American Son by Christopher Demos-Brown. The 16-week limited engagement starred Kerry Washington, Stephen Pasquale, Eugene Lee, and Jeremy Jordan, and was directed by Kenny Leon. American Son ran from November 4, 2018, through January 27, 2019, and was then adapted for film by Netflix.

In 2019, Denoff was a co-producer of Slave Play by Jeremy O. Harris. He also co-produced Sea Wall/A Life starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Tom Sturridge, which had a limited 9-week run at the Hudson Theatre. Both plays received Tony nominations for Best Play. Slave Play returned in 2021 for a limited run at the August Wilson Theatre. Denoff was a coproducer of The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window by Lorraine Hansberry and the return engagement of Take Me Out, which won the 2022 Tony Award for Best Play Revival.

Denoff is the lead producer of a Broadway musical entertainment, That's Broadway! The Moves, The Music, The Magic, with American Dance Machine for the 21st Century.[1] Denoff is lead producer of The Lucky Star, by Karen Hartman, which made its NY debut at 59E59 theatres in Spring 2022.

Personal life

Denoff is the son of television writer/producer Sam Denoff and his first wife Bernice Levey. He has one full sister who died in 2022, and two half siblings from his father's second marriage to dancer Sharon Shore.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Dance! Dance! Dance! Broadway Showstoppers". Retrieved March 2, 2022.
  2. ^ Thursby, Keith (June 11, 2011). "Sam Denoff dies at 83; Emmy-winning writer". Los Angeles Times.