Story by MAT T WING
A lifetime of experiences prepared Bill Damaschke ’85 to serve as producer of a Tony Award-winning musical that echoes real life as Broadway bounces back from the COVID-19 pandemic.
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B
ill Damaschke ’85 approached the microphone onstage at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre and channeled his inner Harold Zidler. Moulin Rouge! had just been announced winner of Best Musical at the 74th annual Tony Awards. A tuxedoed Damaschke, the show’s producer, stood at the mic before a standing ovation and a national TV audience. He wondered how Zidler, one of the central characters in Moulin Rouge!, might handle such a situation. “Hello, chickens,” Damaschke said with Zidlerian bravado, using the character’s familiar welcome. The unique greeting drew laughter from Damaschke’s peers in the audience. He quickly changed characters, however, and, as producer
of the musical that had just captured its 10th Tony Award of the evening, thanked the production’s creative staff, company and backstage personnel. “(They) bring their hearts, souls, passion and talents to the show each and every night,” he said. The Tonys marked a finish line of sorts. Moulin Rouge! opened on Broadway in June 2019 to glowing reviews, and the team was just hitting its stride when, in March 2020, an outbreak of COVID-19 amongst the cast and crew forced Broadway’s first closure due to the pandemic; a week later, all of Broadway was shut down. The Al Hirschfeld Theatre sat empty for more than 18 months before Moulin Rouge! reopened on Sept. 24, 2021. Two days later,
PHOTO/MAX VON ESSEN
BRINGING BROADWAY BACK
