Summary: With Theresa Rebeck's "The Understudy" soon to close at the Roundabout and Douglas Carter Beane's "Mr. and Mrs. Fitch" beginning rehearsals at Second Stage, director Scott Ellis discusses his attraction to both projects and the delays and opportunities that caused each of them to land in New York a bit later than originally expected. He also discusses his early and absolute conviction that he was destined for a career as an actor, and how quickly that changed; how his friendship with John Kander and Fred Ebb from his acting in "The Rink" helped him to land his very first directing job, a revival of "Flora the Red Menace" at the Vineyard Theatre; the enormous opportunities afforded to him by artistic director Todd Haimes at the Roundabout, where Ellis is Associate Artistic Director; how and why he and Susan Stroman came to devise "And The World Goes Round"; his early work on the plays "Picnic" and "A Month in the Country" after his successes with "A Little Night Music" at the New York City Opera and "She Loves Me" -- Roundabout's first musical; the opportunity to collaborate on the creation of "Steel Pier" and the challenges of opening an original book musical in New York without benefit of an out-of-town tryout; why he feels "The Look of Love", his Bacharach and David revue didn't succeed -- and why he thinks it was always meant to be done "drinks in hand"; and how he tackled "Twelve Angry Men", a seemingly familiar work which had never been produced professionally in New York. Original air date - January 11, 2010.
