The New York Times has reported that Tony-winning producer Roger Berlind died December 18. Born June 27, 1930, in New York City, Berlind’s first career was in songwriting. Not finding success, he co-founded a Wall Street brokerage firm. However, after a 1975 plane crash killed his wife and three of their four children, he gave theater another try. His first production was the 1976 musical Rex, which closed after only 48 performances on Broadway. He continued with productions of Music Is, The Merchant, Diversions and Delights, The 1940’s Radio Hour, The Lady from Dubuque, and Passione before seeing success with Peter Shaffer’s play Amadeus, which won five 1981 Tony Awards, including Best Play. Berlind would win another 24 Tonys, and in 2009, he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. He is survived by his wife Brook, son William, and three granddaughters. Below is Berlind with colleagues Margo Lion, Jeffrey Richards, and Jeffrey Seller in the 2008 roundtable “Producing Broadway” for the American Theatre Wing’s Working in the Theatre series.
Berlind’s Tony-winning musical productions include Nine (1982), Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (1989), City of Angels (1990), Guys and Dolls (1992 revival), Passion (1994), Kiss Me, Kate (2000 revival), Book of Mormon (2011), Hello, Dolly! (2017 revival), Dear Evan Hansen (2017), and Oklahoma! (2019 revival). His other Tony-nominated musical productions include Sophisticated Ladies (1981), Big Deal (1986), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1989 revival), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1996 revival), The Life (1997), Steel Pier (1997), The Wild Party (2000), Wonderful Town (2004 revival), Caroline, or Change (2004), Curtains (2007), Gypsy (2008 revival), Ragtime (2010 revival), A Little Night Music (2010 revival), Nice Work If You Can Get It (2012), Annie (2013 revival), An American in Paris (2015), Shuffle Along (2016), and Mean Girls (2018). Below is the cast of Nine (Berlind’s first musical win) at the 1982 Tonys.