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Shows

WST's favorite composer appears to be Stephen Schwartz. Over the course of a decade, from 1986 to 1996, Wildwood produced all four of his widely-available shows: Pippin (1986), Working (1989), Godspell (1991), and The Baker's Wife (1996). Second-place finishers include Stephen Sondheim and the team of Bock & Harnick, each having seen three of his shows performed by Wildwood. Bringing up the rear are Charles Strouse, Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, Frank Loesser (counting Guys and Dolls only once), and the teams of Rodgers & Hammerstein and Adler & Ross, each of whom can claim two WST shows to his credit.

The earliest Wildwood has performed a show following its Broadway opening was, in fact, its first show, Bye Bye Birdie (1965), which was produced only five years after its Broadway opening in 1960. On the flip side of the coin, Wonderful Town (1990) and How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (1998) were produced a full 37 years after the original 1953 and 1961 productions, respectively. This may or may not be the record, depending on whether or not Anything Goes (1982) is considered to be the same show it was in the 1930s, or rather a creation of 1962, when it was substantially re-written for revival.  In addition, you may or may not wish to count WST's second production of Guys and Dolls (1999), having appeared 49 years after the Broadway original.

Staff

WST has had 3 two-time Producers: Frank Burroughs ('66 & '67), Ray Cahill ('83 & '84), Tim Emerson ('85 & '91), and 1 two-and-a-half time Producer: Quinn McCord ('95,'98, & co-producer '99). Jonathan Hadary directed three full shows, during WST's founding years, from 1965-1967.  Paul Edwards directed two and a "half" shows from 1968-'70 (the last year as co-director). Two-time Directors include Jeff Moreland (1973 & '74), Bruce Dworkin (1984 & '87), and Josh Feldman (1992 & '97).  Only Jonathan Hadary ('65) and Josh Feldman ('97) have served as Producer and Director simultaneously.

In 35 years, WST has had only four and a half female Producers: Cynthia Kurz, co-Producer (1968), Karen Hazlett (1972), Veronica J. Mariani (1982), Laurel Portnoy (1992), and Isabel Hernandez-Cata (2000). Note the pattern of women only producing in years ending in "2".  Thanks for screwing up the tradition, Isabel!  Six and a half women have served as Director over the years: Janice Morrison, co-Director (1970), Mary Ann Saloschin (1972), Amelia Esten (1975), Barbara Betzler-Purcell (1981), Suzanne M. Phillips (1993), Marsha Harman (1998), and Jennifer Cravey (1999). Only in 1972 have both the Producer and Director been women.

Longevity

The record of eleven summers with WST is held by Quinn McCord (1989-1999), with Anne Cannon (1977-1986), Neil McFadden (1980-1989), and Mary Emerson (1982-1991) having served ten years each. Given the Theatre's age limit of 14-25, twelve summers should be the hypothetical limit, although it has never been achieved.

"Six Degrees of Separation..."

Question: How many degrees of separation are there between the current membership of WST and its founders? While there are undoubtedly multiple ways to answer this, one possible solution is as follows: Many current members served with Quinn McCord (1989-1999), who overlapped by one year with Neil McFadden (1980-1989). From there, you only need to use three more WST veterans to complete the bridge to the Theatre's earliest days, such as Carl Schultheisz (1975-1982), Michael Horan (1970-1977), and Frank Burroughs (1965-1971). So for now, at least, that makes five degrees of separation.