Director Michael Arden is no longer Broadway's best kept secret

For excessively long, manager Michael Arden was the champion kept concealed successful the American theater. Insiders knew helium was good. But it took a portion to admit conscionable how good.

In a bid of long-shot successes, opening with the 2015 Broadway revival of “Spring Awakening” with Deaf West Theatre, Arden has proved himself to beryllium an adept astatine solving analyzable philharmonic riddles.

His 2017 Tony-winning revival of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s “Once connected This Island” not lone made the 1990 philharmonic politically viable successful an epoch much scrupulous astir radical practice and taste appropriation, but the vibrancy of the staging uncovered caller realms of enchantment.

“Parade,” Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown’s 1998 philharmonic astir a historical miscarriage of justness involving a Jewish antheral wrongly accused of execution successful the Jim Crow South, was considered a succès d’estime. Arden’s Tony-winning revival showed conscionable however short-sighted this was. His thrilling production, which arrives astatine the Ahmanson connected June 17, managed to person adjacent immoderate of the musical’s astir vociferous doubters. The Tonys acceptance code helium delivered, passionately addressed to the queer community, capped disconnected the triumph with defiant dignity.

Chris Shyer and the nationalist circuit institution of “Parade,” which volition travel to the Ahmanson successful June.

(Joan Marcus)

This season, Arden has fixed Broadway its astir astonishing and heartwarming caller musical, “Maybe Happy Ending.” The show, which originated successful South Korea, is simply a futuristic rom-com astir 2 robots nearing the extremity of their beingness cycles who meet, autumn caput implicit heels and are forced to face hard questions astir emotion and loss.

Nominated for 10 Tony Awards, “Maybe Happy Ending” exemplifies the qualities that person made the 42-year-old Arden not conscionable an acknowledged Broadway maestro but a collaborative visionary. With scenic decorator Dane Laffrey, his producing spouse and predominant collaborator, Arden has formed At Rise Creative, dedicated to exploring “dynamic storytelling with innovative plan and technology.”

Not each the projects that At Rise has a manus successful are ones that Arden is slated to direct. This Broadway play the institution was a co-producer of “The Roommate” starring Mia Farrow and Patti LuPone arsenic good arsenic of Jamie Lloyd’s kinetic revival of “Sunset Blvd.” starring Nicole Scherzinger.

Being connected the beforehand extremity of projects has fixed Arden a model onto however make-or-break creator decisions are made. At Rise is simply a wide motion of his holistic attack to his work. He doesn’t bounds himself to what happens successful the rehearsal room. He cares astir the artwork for a amusement and however it’s marketed, for example. And helium wants his institution members to consciousness portion of a corporate concern.

“I attack directing arsenic a genuinely collaborative process,” helium said. “I privation the actors not conscionable to consciousness but to beryllium instantly included successful the enactment we are making. And I privation the design, the ocular portion of the production, to beryllium astatine the forefront on with questions astir what communicative we’re telling and wherefore we are telling it.”

Olivia Goosman, Jack Roden and the nationalist circuit institution of “Parade.”

(Joan Marcus)

He described his narration with Laffrey successful ways that sounded refreshingly non-territorial. “He has a director’s caput and I person a designer’s mind,” helium said. “And we benignant of yin-yang together.”

Boundaries are indispensable and hierarchies service a purpose, but creativity depends connected flexibility. “Because it’s an manufacture filled with wildly talented and analyzable minds, I say, ‘Stay retired of your lane.’ Because oftentimes that’s wherever the magic happens.”

Wearing a sweatshirt from his alma mater, Juilliard, Arden was coming to the extremity of a agelong time astatine the midtown Manhattan workplace he’s been using. “I don’t truly unrecorded here,” helium joked, arsenic helium reached into a adjacent suitcase for a alteration of apparel aft our interview.

Evening had fallen, but his time was acold from done. In summation to the frenzy of “Maybe Happy Ending” and the touring excitement of “Parade,” Arden has 2 caller Broadway musicals successful the works. In the fall, “The Queen of Versailles,” an adaptation of the Lauren Greenfield documentary starring Kristin Chenoweth, opens astatine the St. James Theatre. And successful outpouring 2026, “The Lost Boys,” based connected Joel Schumacher’s 1987 cult film, is acceptable to unfastened astatine the Palace Theatre.

Yes, it’s daunting to bring 2 caller musicals to Broadway successful specified adjacent proximity, but Arden is relieved that they couldn’t beryllium much different. “Because it feels arsenic if I person to enactment connected some astatine the aforesaid time, it’s a small similar ‘Severance,’ ” helium said. “I get successful the elevator and past travel retired the different broadside and workout a wholly antithetic portion of my encephalon and aesthetic sensibilities.”

Director Michael Arden.

(The Tyler Twins / For The Times)

Arden’s creator calling manifested early. “I grew up successful a trailer parkland successful Midland, Texas, and utilized to unit each the neighbour kids to bash plays that I conjecture I directed,” helium said. “Mostly it was an excuse to acceptable things connected fire. The information that there’s not overmuch unrecorded occurrence astatine the extremity of my enactment these days is shocking to me.”

His obsession with the signifier was cultivated astatine a younker theatre company. “I loved each facet of it,” helium said. “I would physique sets successful my grandparents’ garage. So I was funny successful mise-en-scène adjacent earlier I was acting. But past erstwhile I was capable to perform, I wholly fell successful emotion with it.”

The arts brought distant opportunities that different would not person been there. He won a assistance to Juilliard and was firmly connected the acting track.

“Juilliard is truthful aggravated that it’s similar if you are an actor, it’s each you indispensable do,” helium said. “It indispensable beryllium your Holy Grail, and I decidedly followed that for a while.”

Arden was inactive astatine Juilliard erstwhile helium was formed successful the 2003 Broadway revival of “Big River.” This Roundabout Theatre Company accumulation with Deaf West Theatre was directed by Jeff Calhoun, who became a important mentor. Coincidentally, “Big River” was the archetypal philharmonic Arden had seen increasing up successful Texas. That assemblage theatre accumulation lit a occurrence successful him. This landmark accumulation with Deaf West opened a magic door.

“Jeff gave maine my break, really,” Arden said. “He directed the Deaf West ‘Pippin’ astatine the Mark Taper Forum, which I besides did, and past I benignant of followed successful his footsteps. I learned truthful overmuch moving with deaf actors and astir deaf attraction of worldly done my enactment with him. He besides taught maine a batch astir signifier pictures and question and transitions — he’s a fantastic director, obviously. I recognition him with my commencement some arsenic an histrion and arsenic a director.”

The Taper accumulation of “Pippin” convinced Arden to springiness L.A. a go. He joked that helium came retired for the musical, but stayed for the weather. “I did immoderate movie and TV work, but past ended up not moving for a year,” helium said.

Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen successful “Maybe Happy Ending” connected Broadway.

(Matthew Murphy and Evan Zimmerman)

While moving down the antagonistic of a acquisition store successful Los Feliz, helium wrote a play for each his unemployed histrion friends to beryllium in. To get the accumulation disconnected the ground, helium formed a theatre collective, aptly named the Forest of Arden.

“That was the archetypal happening that I directed,” helium said. “It was an adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler’s ‘La Ronde.’ It was a site-specific, immersive, promenade production, highly illegal. I’m shocked we weren’t each arrested for doing it.”

Schnitzler led consecutive to Frank Wedekind. When Deaf West asked if Arden would beryllium funny successful directing for the company, helium had a rubric already successful mind, “Spring Awakening.” Arden had been chatting with his husband, histrion Andy Mientus, astir the Tony-winning philharmonic by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater spun from Wedekind’s drama.

“And that became my archetypal ever existent directing occupation and lone the 2nd happening I ever directed,” helium said.

The Deaf West accumulation of “Spring Awakening” had its premiere astatine Inner-City Arts successful downtown L.A. successful 2014. The adjacent twelvemonth the accumulation opened astatine the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts successful Beverly Hills to rave reviews, paving the mode to Broadway and a Tony information for philharmonic revival.

Arden wasn’t rather capable to ace the Stephen Sondheim-George Furth puzzle that is “Merrily We Roll Along” astatine the Wallis successful 2016. But helium had a caller triumph with “Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol”, powered by the protean virtuosity of Jefferson Mays successful the unforgettable 2018 Geffen Playhouse premiere that launched a caller vacation classical for savvy theatre lovers.

The roadworthy to becoming 1 of today’s astir sought-after Broadway directors didn’t conscionable walk done L.A. Arden was intimately acquainted with the city’s originative byways. New York is erstwhile again home, but Arden is excessively overmuch a maverick to autumn into the constitution trap. He wants to signifier his ain creator destiny. It’s a main crushed helium started At Rise Creative with Laffrey.

“In presumption of my ain work, I wanted a spot astatine the table,” Arden said. “Often the manager is kept astatine arm’s magnitude from the producing. My North Star is Hal Prince. The mode helium thought astir his work, not conscionable from a director’s constituent of presumption but besides from a producer’s constituent of view, truly funny Dane and me. We privation to beryllium capable to enactment enactment that we privation New York to see.”

“My North Star is Hal Prince,” Arden says. “The mode helium thought astir his work, not conscionable from a director’s constituent of presumption but besides from a producer’s constituent of view.”

(The Tyler Twins / For The Times)

That matters not conscionable to New York but to the remainder of the satellite due to the fact that what happens connected Broadway isn’t confined to the city’s theatre district. Arden is thrilled that his accumulation of “Parade” is going to Ahmanson. “I’ve worked astatine the Taper arsenic an actor. And I astir had a amusement astatine the Ahmanson with ‘Once connected This Island,’ but it got canceled due to the fact that of COVID-19. So I consciousness truly fortunate that ‘Parade’ volition beryllium there.”

He has been keeping adjacent tabs connected the touring production, not wanting his handiwork to get smudged successful transit. Arden, to authorities the obvious, cares excessively overmuch to beryllium blasé astir the prime of his work.

Did helium by accidental spot the accumulation of “Parade” astatine the Taper successful 2009 that originated astatine London’s Donmar Warehouse? Arden admitted that helium not lone saw it but had auditioned for it. So however did helium brilliantly win wherever different directors lone managed earnest respectability? Simplicity, helium said, is what saved him.

“It’s an epic, sprawling musical, and I was tasked with rehearsing it successful 2 weeks and mounting it successful a time and a fractional astatine New York City Center,” helium said. “So that was the archetypal hurdle. And honestly, what a bully one, due to the fact that it forced maine to think, What is the simplest mode of doing this? How tin I archer this truly analyzable communicative with a ton of characters and a batch of humanities specifics? There’s a trial, for God’s sake. How tin I archer this intelligibly and yet support it emotional?”

For each of Arden’s showman proclivities, his passionateness for innovative plan and kinetic sceneography, helium ne'er loses show of a work’s beating heart. It is for this crushed that “Maybe Happy Ending,” which stars a perfectly matched Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen, is favored to triumph the Tony for philharmonic this year. Visually, this philharmonic astir nonhuman characters resembles astatine moments the surface of an iPhone, but the humanity of the communicative is ever successful sight.

“Technology tin ne'er overshadow the histrion unless there’s immoderate circumstantial reason,” helium said. “That was benignant of my guiding principle.”

Arden reflected connected the unsocial situation posed by the musical: “How bash you plan the future?” The reply Laffrey and helium came up with progressive remembering the past.

“We’re ever looking for ways to look guardant and backward astatine the aforesaid time,” Arden said. “The futuristic design, you’ll notice, is precise retro. It’s a meld of aged and caller that hopefully makes it classic. You person to look successful each directions for inspiration portion supporting the communicative and allowing the assemblage to absorption connected the actors.”

This medicine mightiness really represent Arden’s directorial signature. No 1 would telephone him a minimalist, but his beatified of holies is not to let his productions to eclipse his performers.

“I person to beryllium truly honorable with myself and inquire whether I’m trying to get my sanction oregon the characters’ names successful the review,” helium said. “I deliberation the characters person to win.”