Purchase College, State University of New York’s Broadway Technical Theatre History Project, will present the Tenth Broadway technical “Backstage Legends and Masters Award” to Bill Gorlin on Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7 pm at The Performing Arts Center on campus, located at 735 Anderson Hill Road in Purchase, NY. This free event is open to everyone and will be streamed live via Zoom Webinar. It will also be recorded for future viewing.
Gorlin started his Broadway career in the late 1980’s while working as a structural engineer at Thune Associates Consulting Engineers in New Canaan, CT. When a commercial scene shop called Showtech called looking for help on a project they were working on, he was given the assignment due to his interest in unusual projects.
This chance encounter would turn into a robust career that includes well over 200 Broadway productions and structural work on Broadway theatres themselves. Gorlin joins previous Backstage Legends and Masters honorees Artie Siccardi (2012), Arnold Abramson (2013), Fred Gallo (2014), Gene O’Donovan (2015), Pete Feller, Sr. (2016), Joseph B. Forbes (2017), Alyce Gilbert (2018), David Rosenberg (2019), and William M. (Bill) Mensching (2023).
The list of Broadway productions Gorlin worked on includes Chicago, Will Rogers Follies, The Color Purple, Miss Saigon, King Kong, Merrily We Roll Along, A Bronx Tale, Tina the Musical, The Little Mermaid, A Strange Loop, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, The Lion King, and many more. In addition to productions, Bill has consulted on architectural work in all 41 Broadway theatres.
“Bill is likely one the only people who has worked on every Broadway theatre,” said Dan Hanessian, associate professor at Purchase, who launched the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project in 2011. “If you consider just the work Bill has done in every Broadway theatre, not the productions, but the architectural part, that alone makes him unique. When you combine that with all of the productions he has worked on, the standards for the industry he has helped shape, and countless other ways he has impacted Broadway practices, it’s hard to imagine anyone with a comparable portfolio of work,” Hanessian concluded.
Currently the interim director of the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Purchase College, Hanessian has been training up-and-coming technical directors and production managers in the Design/Technology Program of the Conservatory for over 30 years.
About the Backstage Legends and Masters & the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project:
Backstage Legends and Masters, founded by Dan Hanessian, is an annual public presentation spotlighting individuals who have been central to the realization of Broadway productions for many years, but are not typically provided recognition through the Tony or Drama Desk awards. Each year, an individual is selected by a panel of distinguished professionals who represent a variety of Broadway production specialties.
“The goal of the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project is to create a living history of the shops and technical personnel who have played a role in the realization of Broadway productions,” Hanessian explains.
This information will be available to the public in a centralized database. The project will also include a visual history and timeline of the shops. For more information, contact Dan Hanessian at [email protected] or (914) 251-6854.
About the Theatre Design/Technology Program at Purchase College:
Housed in the Conservatory of Theatre Arts, the professional training program emphasizes studio and classroom training, all under the guidance and support of established and theatre industry professionals. Many of the program’s alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk awards, among other honors. Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all Tristate venues, and with countless touring productions. After the common freshman-year curriculum, students may choose to concentrate in scenic design, costume design, lighting design, costume technology, state management, or technical direction/production management.
About Purchase College, SUNY:
Purchase College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) network of 64 universities and colleges, was founded in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. His aspiration for Purchase was to create a dynamic campus that combined conservatory training in the visual and performing arts with programs in the liberal arts and sciences, in order to inspire an appreciation for both intellectual and artistic talents in all students. Today, Purchase College, SUNY is a community of students, faculty, and friends where open-minded engagement with the creative process leads to a lifetime of intellectual growth and professional opportunity. For more information about the College, visit www.purchase.edu.