Producer André Ptaszynski has passed away on 29 July aged 67. Ptaszynski was a multi Olivier Award winner and past president of the Society Of London Theatre.
Andre Ptaszynski. Photo: Helen Maybanks Not many of our readers will have heard of André Ptaszynski but chances are you will have seen one of the very many productions or organisations his hand touched during this acclaimed career.
Most notably his association with Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group as Chief Executive from 2005 to 2011 saw him bring productions including Michael Grandage's revival of Evita. Love Never Dies, Priscilla Queen Of The Desert and Bombay Dreams to the West End. He remained as the theatre groups programmer until 2019.
in 1982 alongside Peter Bennett-Jones he formed Pola Jones Associates to produce more than 40 major shows. Productions including Return To The Forbidden Planet, Spend Spend Spend and Chicago would be amongst the shows that would win five Olivier Awards.
Most recently he worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company to bring Matilda the musical by Tim Minchin and Dennis Kelly to the world winning seven Oliviers and five Tony awards. He also produced Tim Minchin's Groundhog Day which picked up a further two Oliviers. Ptaszynski worked in the world of television too on the groundbreaking TV talent shows including Any Dream Will Do, and How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria? as well as the ITV live telecast of The Sound Of Music. He served on the board of the National Theatre and joined the board of Mountview Academy in 2017. He was president of the Society Of London Theatres from 2006 - 2009
Douglas Mayo has had a life long love affair with musical theatre. He has authored several books on publicity and marketing for amateur theatre groups. He is in the process of developing a musical based on his original story concept.
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