Robin de Levita has been recognized with numerous awards including three Tony Awards for his Broadway productions of Into the Woods, 42nd Street, and Titanic. In addition, he received the phenomenal Laurence Olivier Award for The Who’s Tommy (1996) on the West End in London. In the Netherlands, Robin de Levita established the record for the longest running theatrical production in history for Soldaat van Oranje (Soldier of Orange).
We caught up with the award winner to discuss producing Broadway musicals, and which ones have scooped up some of the biggest awards in history.
Welcome Robin. What got you into musical production and made you realize that it was your chosen path?
I started my career in my twenties as a musician and DJ in Amsterdam. This was in 1980. Music was a big part of my life and still is. I was producing raves and promoting concerts in different places. I did the Gladiators in a prison in the center of Amsterdam and rented a circus tent when I could not find a venue for Level 42. My grandmother was an actress, my father a producer of children’s series, and my mother was a journalist. So, I grew up surrounded by artists. Then, I started working in television with a company that later became Endemol which is a global entertainment company now. The same company produced big theatrical revues around legendary Dutch comedian Andre Van Duin. I was executive producing these big shows. One day my boss Joop van den Ende said he wanted to produce musicals. At first, I hated the idea!
How would you describe the projects that you typically prefer?
I am known for big live shows. So somehow these find me. I like to do projects with a relevance. ANNE, about Anne Frank for which we built an entire theater in Amsterdam. Soldier of Orange has brought over 3.5 million people to a play about WWII. My father was in hiding during the war. I find the relevance of these WWII projects important for a new generation and often wonder how much coincidence there is in me doing them.
Which of your musical productions has been your favorite to work on?
So many, and all for different reasons. The Who’s Tommy for the music. West Side Story in Tokyo was an epic production with a full American cast in StageAround ™ which is the theater system I developed. It was amazing. But Covid killed it. Soldier of Orange in the Netherlands for many reasons, it is now in its 13th year. I loved staging the classics like Phantom of the Opera, Les Misérables, and The Lion King. But the craziest memories I have are from Titanic on Broadway. That was a wild ride that still makes me laugh when I think back.
Talking of Broadway, you have quite the Tony Award collection! Congratulations, what are they for?
Like every award it is great when it happens to you. I remember walking onto that huge stage at Radio City Music Hall. Completely surreal. I suddenly felt very Dutch. What the hell is the Dutch dude doing on this huge stage?!
In1997, I received the Tony Award for ‘Best Musical’ for Titanic the Musical.This title already sounds like a joke. Broadway people make funny references to the Titanic all the time. The best one was written in the NY Post. The full front page reported that we did not manage to get through the show on the first preview. It read: “Titanic Won’t Sink.” But it was in reality a beautiful production and I believe it deserved to win the big prize.
The Broadway classic production of 42nd Street in 2001 brought home the Tony Award for ‘Best Revival’. This was a huge production that ran 2.5 years on Broadway. It became the opening number on the Tony Awards, starting in the subway all the way live into the show. One of the best opening numbers to a show I have ever seen. Great stuff.
Just one year later in 2002, another Tony Award for Into the Woods for ‘Best Revival’, starring Vanessa Williams. One of the masterpieces of the late Stephen Sondheim. Like many Sondheim shows, an artistic, not commercial success.
Three Tony Awards and also the prestigious Laurence Olivier Award. What was the latter for?
I received the Laurence Olivier Award in 1996 for The Who’s Tommy. This remains one of my favorite shows ever. It brought me a long friendship with Michael David and Ed Strong of Dodger Theatricals. To work with Pete Townshend was such a huge honor for me. Pete told me, “Watch out, in the US I am a rock star, but in the UK, I am just a bloke.” When you see him play guitar, you realize you are witnessing music history.
If you could give your younger self one piece of advice, what would it be?
Do not let anybody discourage you and aim as high as you can. Create stuff. Many people are good in executing. Creation is everything.
Thank you so much for your time. How can we follow your successes?
