Legit industry vet Joey Parnes is set to hang out his own shingle with Joey Parnes Prods., a new outfit focusing on producing and managing Broadway plays and tuners.
Parnes is currently wrapping up a stint as interim exec director of the Public Theater, where he also served on the search committee for a permanent replacement to fill the post.
Joey Parnes Prods. aims to offer a range of services that includes exec producing and general management as well as consultation for non-profit theaters, including those plotting a commercial Broadway transfer. Longtime general manager Parnes recently helped shepherd the Public Theater’s revival of “Hair” to the Main Stem, where it recouped and picked up a Tony.
The new Parnes office — where Parnes will be joined by colleagues Sue Wagner, John Johnson and Nate Koch — is currently set to produce Judy Garland bioplay “End of the Rainbow,” skedded for an April opening on the Main Stem. Further projects with the Public are also in the offing.
Over his 30-year career in the business, Parnes has managed or produced a string of Rialto outings including “The Merchant of Venice,” “The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?” and the original production of “Dreamgirls.” His resume also includes stints as a coordinating producer for the Tony Awards as well as a two-year gig in the mid-1990s as exec producer at the Public. He finishes off his current term at the Public at the end of the month.
Joey Parnes Prods. will operate out of Parnes’ current office in midtown Gotham.
