'Theater Kid' is a memoir from the producer of 'Rent,' 'Avenue Q,' and 'Hamilton'

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day: "Theater Kid" by Jeffrey Seller

Episode Overview:
In this engaging episode of NPR's Book of the Day, host Scott Simon converses with Jeffrey Seller, the acclaimed producer behind iconic Broadway productions such as Rent, Avenue Q, and Hamilton. Seller delves into his memoir, Theater Kid, offering a heartfelt narrative of his ascent in the competitive world of musical theater despite humble beginnings.

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Early Life and Challenges

Growing Up in Suburban Detroit
Jeffrey Seller opens up about his upbringing in Cardboard Village, a suburb of Detroit, highlighting the socio-economic hardships his family faced. His father’s unstable employment, including serving warrants and a brief stint as a clown, deeply impacted Seller's childhood.

• Self-Perception and Identity:
  "I always felt like an outsider. I was an adopted kid, I was a gay kid, I was a Jewish kid, and maybe most of all, I was a poor kid. And it was embarrassing."
  (03:00)

Father’s Dual Roles – Law and Clowning:
Seller recounts his father's decision to become a clown with the Shriner Circus, aiming to bring joy to children despite the financial strain it imposed on the family.

• Balancing Act:
  "It was the manifestation of everything that was loving and wonderful and philanthropic about my father because he loved making all those balloons for children in hospitals and taking photos with these kids with those smiles on their faces, which was so beautiful. And he was impoverishing our family by doing it."
  (04:45)

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Finding Solace in Theater

Early Engagement with Community Theater
From a young age, Seller found a refuge in the arts, participating in community theater productions that provided a sense of belonging and self-worth.

• Memoir Excerpt:
  In a poignant reading from Theater Kid, Seller describes preparing for a stage performance, revealing his internal struggle with self-image and the transformative power of theater.
  "I see me. I am ready to go on stage and bring my character to life. I feel good looking. I feel like a winner."
  (01:55)

---

Journey to Broadway Success

From University to New York
Seller’s path to Broadway was unconventional. After graduating from the University of Michigan, he moved to New York without the financial means typically associated with the theater scene.

• Breaking In:
  "It's not a backstage dish. Go to the University of Michigan, come to New York, start working for booking agents. One day you see a rock monologue by Jonathan Larson called 'Boho Days.'"
  (05:21)

Connection with Jonathan Larson and Lin-Manuel Miranda
A pivotal moment in Seller’s career was encountering Jonathan Larson’s Boho Days and subsequently reaching out to him, leading to the production of Rent. His collaboration with Lin-Manuel Miranda on In the Heights and Hamilton exemplifies his knack for identifying and nurturing groundbreaking talent.

• Inspiration from Larson’s Work:
  "I watched this at age 25 and I said, how does this guy know my life story? I've never met him before. So I wrote him a letter the next day saying, I want to produce your musicals."
  (06:35)

• Impact of Hamilton:
  "If in the Heights was this warm, enveloping Caribbean water wrap, then Hamilton was like a lightning bolt. Pow. It absolutely compelled you from the beginning all the way to the end."
  (07:56)

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The Power of Theater

Creating Hope and Belonging
Seller emphasizes theater’s unique ability to forge connections and offer solace to its audience. Productions like Rent and Hamilton have become safe havens for many, fostering a sense of community and shared humanity.

• Transformative Impact:
  "Hope. A sense of belonging, a sense like, oh, I can fit in there. I saw so many kids who experienced Rent as a safe haven, where they went, oh, I can have a made family, a chosen family like this."
  (08:39)

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Conclusion

Jeffrey Seller's Theater Kid is not just a memoir of theatrical successes but a testament to resilience, passion, and the profound influence of the arts in overcoming personal and socio-economic barriers. Through his stories, Seller illustrates how dedication and an unwavering belief in the transformative power of theater can lead to monumental achievements and lasting cultural impacts.

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Notable Quotes:

• "I always felt like an outsider. I was an adopted kid, I was a gay kid, I was a Jewish kid, and maybe most of all, I was a poor kid. And it was embarrassing."
  – Jeffrey Seller (03:00)

• "I want to go, oh my God, I've never heard that kind of sound on Broadway before."
  – Jeffrey Seller (07:09)

• "Hope. A sense of belonging, a sense like, oh, I can fit in there."
  – Jeffrey Seller (08:39)

---

Final Thoughts:
Theater Kid offers an inspiring look into the life of a Broadway producer who defied the odds. Jeffrey Seller’s narrative serves as both a personal memoir and a broader commentary on the societal impact of musical theater, making it a compelling read for anyone interested in the arts and the stories behind some of Broadway's greatest hits.

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. The Tony Awards are coming up this Sunday, and if you are at all a fan of Broadway musical theater, heck, even if you aren't, you're probably familiar with the work of today's guest. Jeffrey Seller is the producer behind Rent, Avenue Q, Hamilton and more. He's a giant in the field, and his new book, Theater Kid, is about how he worked his way up in the scene because he wasn't born and raised in New York with the money to experience all the culture the city has to offer. No, he grew up outside of Detroit in a lower income family. His dad served warrants for a living. But Seller tells NPR Scott Simon that his dad briefly took on another job, one that showed him both the power and the cost of making someone smile with your art. That's ahead.

[Jeffrey Seller]

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[Scott Simon]

Jeffrey Settler is the producer of Rant Avenue Q in the Heights and a little modest worldwide success of which you may have heard called Hamilton. He grew up in a suburb of Detroit called Cardboard Village, in a home with parents who could be quarrelsome and found another kind of home on stage from an early age. Let's ask him to read a section from his new memoir where he was a kid appearing in a community theater musical.

[Jeffrey Seller]

On the final weekend of the play. I sit in the men's dressing room looking into a mirror, surrounded by light bulbs. My blue eyes are illuminated by the bright lights. They are luminescent and powerful. I understand why sometimes I'm mistaken for a girl. I've had family members tell me I'm handsome and aunts call me gorgeous. But I don't usually feel handsome or gorgeous at school. People reserve those adjectives for more athletic boys like my friends Bruce and Jay. Not me. However, in front of this mirror, I see me. I am ready to go on stage and bring my character to life. I feel good looking. I feel like a winner.

[Scott Simon]

Jeffrey Seller's new memoir, Theater Kid and Jeff Seller joins Us now from our studios in New York. Jeffrey, thanks so much for being with us.

[Jeffrey Seller]

It is my pleasure to be with you today, Scott.

[Scott Simon]

A teacher hung that tag on you, didn't she?

[Jeffrey Seller]

Mrs. Nowadsky, fifth grade.

[Scott Simon]

Did you, when you're growing up in suburban Detroit, feel that you didn't fit or that you didn't want to fit?

[Jeffrey Seller]

I always felt like an outsider. I was an adopted kid, I was a gay kid, I was a Jewish kid, and maybe most of all, I was a poor kid. And it was embarrassing.

[Scott Simon]

Used to accompany your father at night when he. Boy, this sounds colorful. Easy for me to say. He drove around serving warrants to people. Tell us about that. And what do you think you saw in people then?

[Jeffrey Seller]

I saw people who couldn't pay their monthly bills. I saw people who were getting divorced. I saw people who were getting kicked out of their houses. But I also saw that my dad handled it with respect, without judgment. He was just doing his job as courteously as he could. And of course, he was a 6 foot 3, 250 pound giant from my eyes, as a twig like 10 year old boy.

[Scott Simon]

Your father also had a brief career as a clown, didn't he?

[Jeffrey Seller]

Oh, God, Scott, one of the most surprising things ever was when my father said, I'm gonna join the Shriners so I can be in the Shrine Circus and be a clown and make children happy.

[Scott Simon]

He loved it. Your mother didn't think it was such a great idea, did she?

[Jeffrey Seller]

Well, imagine what it's like where we can barely pay the bills to begin with. And instead of serving papers, he spends the basically three full weeks at the Detroit State Fairgrounds being a clown, like in four shows a day, and spending money on his clown costume instead of the clothes we need to get through the winter.

[Scott Simon]

Looking back on it now, what do you see in that period of time in your father?

[Jeffrey Seller]

Well, it was the manifestation of everything that was loving and wonderful and philanthropic about my father because he loved making all those balloons for children in hospitals and taking photos with these kids with those smiles on their faces, which was so beautiful. And he was impoverishing our family by doing it. Scott, I'm gonna cry. I'm sorry. It's just like, ah.

[Scott Simon]

One of the things I love about the book is that you spend most of the time telling us how you get to success in New York. This is not a backstage dish. Dish. Go to the University of Michigan, come to New York, start working for booking agents. One day you see a rock monologue by Jonathan Larson called Boho Days.

[Lin-Manuel Miranda]

Yeah, I thought, hey, what a way to spend a day. Hey, what a way to spend a day.

[Scott Simon]

A line in a song. What a way to spend a day. What did that set off in you?

[Jeffrey Seller]

It's setting it off right now. I'm getting chills all through my body from that notion of what a way to spend the day. Because Jonathan was a 30 year old composer of rock musicals that nobody wanted to produce. And this song was all about his love of musicals.

[Lin-Manuel Miranda]

Three o' clock, went to rehearse in the gym. Mike played Duck, who didn't sing. Fine with him. We sang got a rocket in your.

[Jeffrey Seller]

Pocket and the jets are gonna have their day. I watched this at age 25 and I said, how does this guy know my life story? I've never met him before. So I wrote him a letter the next day saying, I want to produce your musicals.

[Scott Simon]

I'll just say the stories of all your prize winning musicals, including Hamilton, are in here. You worked with Lin Manuel Miranda on In the Heights. What spark leapt in your minds that made you both say, ah? A musical about the life of the first secretary of the U.S. treasury. That's got winner written all over it.

[Jeffrey Seller]

Or you could even say the first bureaucrat. Right? He created the American bureaucracy. When I am confronted with a new musical, a new idea, I am always looking for two things. One, I want to be surprised. Two, I want my ears to be pricked in a whole new way. I want to go, oh my God, I've never heard that kind of sound on Broadway before. And the first time I heard Lin perform a rap for in the Heights, the hair on my arm stood up.

[Lin-Manuel Miranda]

Lights up on Washington Heights up at the break of day I wake up and I got this little punk I gotta chase away. Pop the great at the crack of dawn sing while I wipe down the awning. Hey, y' all, Good morning.

[Jeffrey Seller]

I thought, I've never heard that before. And what I like to say is that if in the Heights was this warm, enveloping Caribbean water wrap, then Hamilton was like a lightning bolt. Pow. It absolutely compelled you from the beginning all the way to the end, just to Alexander Hamilton.

[Andrew Limbong]

Alexander.

[Scott Simon]

What can theater unlock in all of us?

[Jeffrey Seller]

Hope. A sense of belonging, a sense like, oh, I can fit in there. I saw so many kids who experienced rent as a safe haven, where they went, oh, I can have a made family, a chosen family like this. I just want to be with those characters. And they got to be with them every time they listened to the album. And they got to be with them every time they came to see the show the World's a Better Place for Rent. The World's a Better Place for Jonathan Larson. The World Is a Better Place for Hamilton and and Lin Manuel Miranda Jeffrey.

[Scott Simon]

Seller his new memoir, Theater Kid. Thank you so much for being with us.

[Jeffrey Seller]

What a pleasure to talk.

[Andrew Limbong]

Scott and just a reminder that signing up for book of the day plus is a great way to support NPR's book coverage and public media. And you'll get to listen to every episode sponsor free. So please go find out more at/npr.org book of the day.

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