INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR SCOTT ELLIS
Education Dramaturg Ted Sod interviews On the Twentieth Century director Scott Ellis.
Ted Sod: Can you tell us about your role as Associate Artistic Director and how that manifests itself at Roundabout?
Scott Ellis: That happened about 19 years ago. I can't believe the time that's gone by. After She Loves Me, Todd Haimes asked me if I would come on board as an Associate Director, which I did. Then, a short time after that, he said, “Would you come on as Associate Artistic Director?,” which I was thrilled about. Todd runs the theatre. He makes all the decisions. What's nice for me is I can bring projects to him or he can suggest ideas to me saying, “Would you be interested in directing this?” Other than that, I'm involved with anything else that he needs. I have the best job possible.
TS: Does that mean that you brought On the Twentieth Century to Todd, or did he suggest it to you? How did that work?
SE: When we sit down and talk about possible shows, we just talk about plays and musicals that would be exciting shows for us to do. On the Twentieth Century was always something I wanted to do because of Kristin Chenoweth. I believe in one of our conversations, I brought it up. Although to be honest, we're so much on the same wavelength that he might have brought it up. I know it's something that we discussed a while ago. I said, “I want to do it, but it has to be with Kristin.”
TS: Is that because it takes such a specific talent to play Lily Garland?
SE: It's almost like saying I'm going to do Hamlet without knowing who your Hamlet is. You’ve just got to know who's going to play Lily. She’s got to be funny and beautiful and sing like crazy. There are so few people who can do it. For me, it was always about Kristin. When she said yes, I said yes. We've been planning this for a while. Between our schedules, things moved and shifted, but if she had said no, I would not have done it. Basically, I'm doing it because of her.
TS: Do you see this musical as a love story between Oscar and Lily, or is it more complex than that?
SE: It's such a wonderfully written piece—the entire action takes place on a train traveling from Chicago to New York City—and all the characters have a certain amount of time to finish getting what they need and want before they get to the final destination. It certainly is an unusual love story since Lily and Oscar both have huge egos and live in the world of entertainment—which has great importance in their lives—and that’s something people in show business can relate to. It’s a lopsided love affair. I think we've all been in them. I certainly have been in them one way or the other. It boils down to if you're going to commit to being a show biz couple. Basically, if you're meant to be together, then you're meant to be together. I think the “madcap” love between Oscar and Lily is part of the story.
TS: Did you have to do a lot of research on this period? Is this a period you're familiar with?
SE: Yes, I'm somewhat familiar with this period, but I certainly wasn't very familiar with the train. The train is as important as all the
4 ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY
characters in the musical. I did a lot of research on the train as well as some research on the period. The theatre show-biz types don't change much no matter what era we're in. The question of how you balance being in show business with your personal life isn't very different. For me, it really was important to understand the train and the types of people riding or working on it. There was a certain level of income that meant you could afford to go on that train and could live like that and expect to be treated well.
TS: Train travel seems like a whole different world today. SE: The whole world of this musical is different.
TS: Because –
SE: Because of the way stars were handled and looked after during the 1930s. We don't operate the way that world did anymore because today everything is so Internet-driven and about going viral and making an instant splash—it's not controlled like it was back then. All of that image stuff was so controlled. They had press agents who made up stories and kept their images glossy—the way they were supposed to be perceived by the public. It's impossible to do that anymore. You can't hide anything anymore. Someone's going to find out something you don’t want them to.
TS: Do you see Oscar as someone who created Lily’s public persona?
SE: Oscar was an impresario, and that was his job—they were able to keep that artifice alive without any fear of the press finding out
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