What does it take to build something that moves people — literally and figuratively? In this episode, host Talia Mashiach sits down with Sue Gilad — Tony Award-winning Broadway producer and co-producer of Moulin Rouge!, The Outsiders, Who's Tommy, and Buena Vista Social Club — for a conversation about creative risk, resilience, leadership, and what the theater industry can teach us about life.

Sue's path wasn't a straight line. She started as an actress, realized her real joy was in building — the team, the story, the room — and pivoted to producing before most people even knew that was a career. Today, she's behind some of the most celebrated shows on Broadway, driven not by the promise of profit, but by an irrational, unwavering love for the art form.

This episode is about far more than Broadway. It's a frank, joyful conversation about the power of rejection, the discipline of creativity, what it means to lead a room full of artists, and why the skills of a theater kid might be exactly what the world needs most right now.

Timestamps:

3:10 — What does a Broadway producer actually do?

5:34 — Finding the show: 8-10 years to develop a Broadway musical

6:37 — The art meets commerce challenge — and what makes a story evergreen

9:07 — How scripts get optioned and what writers actually get paid

14:30 — Each show is its own startup: fiscally and artistically

17:41 — From actress to producer: the pivot that changed everything

20:28 — The first show Sue ever produced — and the friend who handed her the script

22:07 — "I loved being in the room where we're all strangers — and two weeks later you can't imagine one person being gone"

26:32 — How Sue builds her team and what the "no jerks rule" really means

29:13 — The CEO and the janitor: what it means to lead a Broadway show

30:01 — Moulin Rouge!, The Outsiders, and the moment a show tells you it needs to fly

31:37 — Investors, risk, and why you can't make a living but you can make a killing

35:30 — Recoupment on Broadway — and why it's getting harder

36:09 — The Stay Gold Project: turning teenage boys into theater kids

36:49 — Ticket prices, access, and the fight to bring new audiences into the theater

38:27 — Social media and how it drives ticket sales today

42:32 — The rise of Orthodox women's theater: a new creative frontier

45:28 — AI, creativity, and why analog theater is going to matter more, not less

46:23 — COVID and Broadway: 18 months dark, and how they kept skills alive

47:33 — "You can't make a living, but you can make a killing"

51:37 — Rejection in theater — and why "no" never means no forever

51:40 — What theater kids become in the real world

59:30 — October 7th, antisemitism on Broadway, and Sue's most important contribution

1:02:03 — Fast Five: rock bottom moments, sacrifices, skydiving with her daughter, and her message to women

About the Guest: Sue Gilad

Sue Gilad is a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer whose credits include Moulin Rouge!, The Outsiders (Best Musical, Tony Award 2024), The Who's Tommy, Buena Vista Social Club, and Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, among others. She began her career as a performer, discovering along the way that her true passion was building — assembling teams, developing stories, and creating the conditions for theatrical magic to happen.

A longtime collaborator with producing partner Larry Rogowsky, Sue is known for her relentless optimism, her refusal to treat rejection as permanent, and her deep belief that theater has the power to open hearts and change minds. Through initiatives like the Stay Gold Project and the Matinee Mission, she works to bring first-time theatergoers — especially young people — into Broadway houses across the country.

Sue is a proud mother of three, a passionate advocate for the arts in education, and someone who would happily pay for the privilege of doing what she does.

This episode was made possible by our friends at Roth & Co., innovators in accounting and business advisory. We are grateful for their continued partnership in making these conversations possible.