EDGE Interview: Producer Tom D'Angora Wants to Push Theater - Both On and Off Broadway - to a More Inclusive Place

While Tom D'Angora has produced many things on Broadway, he could arguably be called the king of New York City's small theatre, or what others might refer to as off-Broadway. (Defined as venues with 99-499 seats.) His co-productions and revivals have earned him several awards and many nominations. But that's not to say that D'Angora is any stranger to Broadway: he currently is involved in two productions – "How to Dance in Ohio" and "Harmony," Barry Manilow's ambitious Broadway musical, and is working on a third – "Suffs" (set for the Spring) . For a man whose first job was in Times Square's TKTS booth, it can be said that theater is in his blood.

As a producer it was Off-Broadway he has produced such hits as "Naked Boys Singing!," "The Marvelous Wonderettes," "A Broadway Diva Christmas," "ICONS," "Back in Pictures," or "A Musical About Star Wars." More recently he was involved in the musical "Walking in Bubbles," which closed in September and released an original cast album. That show's subject matter – mental illness and homelessness – is not standard musical fare, but that's fine by D'Angora, who actively seeks out works that push the envelope, especially ones with socially conscious issues.

Take "How to Dance in Ohio," his current show that opened in December. Based on the HBO documentary about a group of autistic teenagers planning a spring formal, the show is unusual for the risk-averse Broadway market. "It's the first time in history that autistic characters are being played by autistic actors on Broadway," D'Angora said.

In reviewing the show in the New York Times, critic Jesse Green wrote: "It would have been enough of a first for a Broadway musical to tell a respectful or even vaguely authentic story about autistic people... So it is a welcome change that the seven autistic characters in 'How to Dance in Ohio' are presented, without condescension, as young adults a lot like most others, albeit with unusual gifts and challenges. That they are also played by autistic performers makes the feel-good show, which opened on Sunday at the Belasco Theater, more than a first: It's a milestone."

Or take "Suffs," the new musical he is part of bringing to Broadway in the Spring. A hit last year at the Public Theater, the show explores the victories and failures of a fight for women's rights. But such choices are not unusual for D'Angora, who came out at a young age, in part because he had a great support system already in place. "Yeah, I've always been out. I'm a second generation; my dad is a loud and proud gay hairdresser. I marched in the first Youth pride march in the first organized youth pride march in the history of the world in Massachusetts in the early 1990s."

Inclusion, he feels, is important in the theater, both in terms of subject matter and production, and that it goes beyond being "woke" or politically correct. These terms are ways to define for past generations what queer folks already know: representation matters. But while there have been great leaps made in queer inclusion in the past few years, D'Angora is well aware at how the trans population has yet to be fully represented on the stage. This is why D'Angora is excited about "S/HE and ME," a musical about the life and career of trailblazing transgender actress Alexandra Billings that he is involved in. The show is currently preparing for a March 2024 industry workshop ahead of a Broadway production, reported Broadway World.

"The music is stunning," he says. "We just did a smaller early workshop of it, and it was very well received. And she's giving a performance that I believe will go down in history. Can I just please be very clear and on record that it is also not my place to tell the trans experience. What I'm doing is just using my privilege to stand behind it, amplify it, and support it as much as I can, and be part of the movement. But it is not my story to tell in any way. I'm here to amplify it."