Film Director
Director of Hamilton on Broadway and Grease: Live on Fox
PROFILE
Thomas Kail
Guest
FROM Thomas Kail
The Business
Thomas Kail, director of 'Grease: Live' As Grease: Live opens, performer Jessie J sings “Grease is the Word” as she winds her way through bustling high school sets, backstage hallways, dressing rooms and even outdoors in one long, single shot. That dynamic opening set the pace for the rest of the live production, which premiered on Fox in January of this year. Grease: Live is the most recent production in a spate of musical revivals embraced by broadcast networks in search of the high ratings that come with live events. More than 12 million people tuned in to watch Rydell High’s Sandy and Danny, played by Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit, reminisce on those summer nights, be born to hand jive, and of course, experience an electrifying carnival connection. Grease: Live is a technically complex production that’s constantly in motion. Cameras follow a large cast over multiple locations and incorporate an audience that’s actually sitting on set. The show received 10 Emmy nominations, including one for our guest, director Thomas Kail. Kail is also the Tony-winning director of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway juggernaut Hamilton. Before that, he directed Miranda’s first Broadway musical, In the Heights. When Kail recently talked to host of The Business, Kim Masters, he recalled that his very first encounter with Miranda--while they were both students at Wesleyan--wasn’t exactly positive. Fortunately, they would go on to reconnect after Kail graduated.
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.
Bookworm
Morgan Parker: There Are More Beautiful Things than Beyoncé Morgan Parker says that the poems in her book There Are Things More Beautiful than Beyoncé take a stand against the clichés of the dominant culture.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Why did Jared Kushner want a back channel with Russians? News broke Friday that President Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, tried setting up a back channel between the Trump transition team and the Russian government. What are the consequences for Kushner, President Trump, and the investigation into Russian meddling?
Design and Architecture
Farewell LA freeways, Peter Shire is back Angelenos don't want more freeways but we seem not to want mass transit either. Metro has killed the 710 freeway extension, and bus and train ridership is down across the region. What's the future of getting around in LA? And, Peter Shire is having a comeback. What attracts a new generation to his playful ceramics and furniture?