Alan Wasser, Longtime Broadway General Manager, Remembered As Industry Legend

Alan Wasser, the longtime Broadway general manager whose half-century career was recognized with an honorary Tony Award in 2017, was being remembered today as an industry legend with a legacy spanning generations.

Wasser, who died in New York at 70 on Sunday from complications from Parkinson’s disease, worked on some of the biggest Broadway productions of the 1980s and ’90s – many of them produced by his frequent collaborator Cameron Mackintosh – and the company Wasser co-founded in 2012, Foresight Theatrical LLC, is represented on Broadway today with The Prom and King Kong. Foresight’s upcoming productions include Moulin Rouge!

Mackintosh, in a press statement, said, “Alan’s contribution to the re-birth of the American musical theatre in the 1980’s and 1990’s was enormous, helping turn it into a hugely successful industry where before there had only been occasional big hits. Through Alan’s organizational efforts and inspiration, he brought to my attention numerous exciting new talents who had not yet worked on Broadway. Through their tremendous efforts these huge shows criss-crossed America on a similar scale to their original Broadway splendor—something that had not happened before on this scale. Alan was also the nicest and fairest man you could ever work with. We all adored him and will carry his memory forever.”

Among those groundbreaking productions: Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. Under the Foresight banner, Wasser contributed to such productions as the recent The Lifespan of a Fact, Escape to Margaritaville, Kinky Boots and The Band’s Visit, as well as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and American Psycho, among many others.

Wasser co-founded Foresight with Allan Williams, Aaron Lustbader and Mark Shacket. Prior to Foresight, Wasser founded Alan Wasser Associates, handling general management, tour booking, and tour marketing.

“Alan was the general manager of the Kennedy Center when we first met,” said Robert E. Wankel, President and Co-CEO of The Shubert Organization, in a statement. “He was clearly a young man with a big future. He established his reputation on Broadway working with Cameron Mackintosh on an amazing string of hits. He was a tremendous asset to the industry, and a wonderful man. On behalf of everyone at the Shubert Organization, I send sincere condolences to Alan’s family, his partners and his wide circle of friends.”