Andre Ptaszynski
Encyclopedia
André Ptaszynski is a British theatre producer. He studied English at Jesus College, Oxford
.
He was Chief Executive of the Really Useful Group
from 2005 to 2011 and Chief Executive of Really Useful Theatres from 2000 to 2005. During that time he also produced a new production of Evita, directed by Michael Grandage
and Love Never Dies
, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, directed by Jack O’Brien
. He was executive producer on Bombay Dreams
and the Madness musical, Our House. While he was Chief Executive of the Really Useful Group, the company also produced the cast-by-television hits, The Sound of Music, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Wizard of Oz. He was also one of the producers of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (musical) in London.
Prior to 2000, he ran his own theatre and TV production company. Among other shows, he was sole or co-producer of five which won Best Musical Olivier Awards and/or Evening Standard awards in the 1990s: Return to the Forbidden Planet, Show Boat, Tommy
, Chicago
, and Spend, Spend, Spend. He also promoted many comedians, ranging from Rowan Atkinson
, Dave Allen, Rik Mayall and Victoria Wood
in the 1980s to Eddie Izzard
, The League of Gentlemen and Armstrong and Miller in the 1990s and later.
He produced four BBC
television series with Pola Jones. The first was Tygo Road, starring Kevin McNally
, which lasted six episodes in 1990. The veteran sitcom director Bob Spiers
introduced Ptaszynski to writer Steven Moffat suggesting that Moffat should write a sitcom. Moffat pitched an idea about a sitcom set in a school, but as the writer was talking passionately about his divorce, Ptaszynski convinced him to write about that instead. The show became Joking Apart
which Ptaszynski produced for Pola Jones and which ran for two series and won the Bronze Rose at the Montreux Television Festival in 1995. Like Tygo Road, the show was developed from the Comic Asides series of pilots. The producer contributed to the DVD audio commentary for the second series.
Moffat’s proposal of a school sitcom was resurrected for Ptaszynski’s next television project after the second series of Joking Apart was broadcast. Two series of Chalk
were transmitted on BBC One in 1997. The producer contributed to the documentary about the show, After the Chalk Dust Settled, included on the DVD release of the first series. During this period, Moffat began a relationship with television producer Sue Vertue, ending the Moffat-Ptaszynski collaboration.
His final television projects for Pola Jones were the sketch/variety The Lenny Beige Television Showand a Saturday Night BBC1 series with Ainsley Harriot, The Hidden Camera Show.
He is a past president of The Society of London Theatre
and was on the Board of The National Theatre from 2001 to 2009.
Jesus College, Oxford
Jesus College is one of the colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is in the centre of the city, on a site between Turl Street, Ship Street, Cornmarket Street and Market Street...
.
He was Chief Executive of the Really Useful Group
Really Useful Group
The Really Useful Group Ltd. is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing...
from 2005 to 2011 and Chief Executive of Really Useful Theatres from 2000 to 2005. During that time he also produced a new production of Evita, directed by Michael Grandage
Michael Grandage
Michael Grandage CBE is a British theatre director and producer, and current Artistic Director at the Donmar Warehouse, London. Grandage won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for Red.-Early years:...
and Love Never Dies
Love Never Dies
Love Never Dies may refer to:*Love Never Dies , an American silent drama directed by King Vidor*Love Never Dies , an Argentine romantic drama directed and written by Luis César Amadori...
, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera, directed by Jack O’Brien
Jack O'Brien (director)
Jack O'Brien is an American director, producer, writer and lyricist. He served as the Artistic Director of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California from 1981 through the end of 2007....
. He was executive producer on Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams
Bombay Dreams is a Bollywood-themed musical, with music by A. R. Rahman, lyrics by Don Black and the book by Meera Syal and Thomas Meehan,and produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The London production opened in 2002 and ran for two years...
and the Madness musical, Our House. While he was Chief Executive of the Really Useful Group, the company also produced the cast-by-television hits, The Sound of Music, Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and The Wizard of Oz. He was also one of the producers of Priscilla Queen of the Desert (musical) in London.
Prior to 2000, he ran his own theatre and TV production company. Among other shows, he was sole or co-producer of five which won Best Musical Olivier Awards and/or Evening Standard awards in the 1990s: Return to the Forbidden Planet, Show Boat, Tommy
Tommy (rock opera)
Tommy is the fourth album by English rock band The Who, released by Track Records and Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Decca Records/MCA in the United States. A double album telling a loose story about a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" who becomes the leader of a messianic movement, Tommy was...
, Chicago
Chicago (musical)
Chicago is a musical set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The music is by John Kander with lyrics by Fred Ebb and a book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal"...
, and Spend, Spend, Spend. He also promoted many comedians, ranging from Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Atkinson
Rowan Sebastian Atkinson is a British actor, comedian, and screenwriter. He is most famous for his work on the satirical sketch comedy show Not The Nine O'Clock News, and the sitcoms Blackadder, Mr. Bean and The Thin Blue Line...
, Dave Allen, Rik Mayall and Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood
Victoria Wood CBE is a British comedienne, actress, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and director. Wood has written and starred in sketches, plays, films and sitcoms, and her live stand-up comedy act is interspersed with her own compositions, which she accompanies on piano...
in the 1980s to Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
, The League of Gentlemen and Armstrong and Miller in the 1990s and later.
He produced four BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
television series with Pola Jones. The first was Tygo Road, starring Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally
Kevin McNally is an English actor who has worked in theatre and radio extensively as well as in film and television.-Life and career:...
, which lasted six episodes in 1990. The veteran sitcom director Bob Spiers
Bob Spiers
Bob Spiers was a director. He is particularly noted as the director of the early series of Absolutely Fabulous , the musical comedy Spiceworld, and of the second series of Fawlty Towers . He also worked with Steven Moffat on Press Gang and Joking Apart...
introduced Ptaszynski to writer Steven Moffat suggesting that Moffat should write a sitcom. Moffat pitched an idea about a sitcom set in a school, but as the writer was talking passionately about his divorce, Ptaszynski convinced him to write about that instead. The show became Joking Apart
Joking Apart
Joking Apart is a BBC television sitcom written by Steven Moffat about the rise and fall of a relationship. It juxtaposes a couple, Mark and Becky , who fall in love and marry, before getting separated and finally divorced...
which Ptaszynski produced for Pola Jones and which ran for two series and won the Bronze Rose at the Montreux Television Festival in 1995. Like Tygo Road, the show was developed from the Comic Asides series of pilots. The producer contributed to the DVD audio commentary for the second series.
Moffat’s proposal of a school sitcom was resurrected for Ptaszynski’s next television project after the second series of Joking Apart was broadcast. Two series of Chalk
Chalk (TV series)
Chalk is a British television sitcom set in a comprehensive school named Galfast High. Two series, both written by Steven Moffat, were broadcast on BBC1 in 1997...
were transmitted on BBC One in 1997. The producer contributed to the documentary about the show, After the Chalk Dust Settled, included on the DVD release of the first series. During this period, Moffat began a relationship with television producer Sue Vertue, ending the Moffat-Ptaszynski collaboration.
His final television projects for Pola Jones were the sketch/variety The Lenny Beige Television Showand a Saturday Night BBC1 series with Ainsley Harriot, The Hidden Camera Show.
He is a past president of The Society of London Theatre
The Society of London Theatre
The Society of London Theatre is an umbrella organization for West End theatre in London.- TKTS, Half-Price Theatre Ticket Booth:...
and was on the Board of The National Theatre from 2001 to 2009.