Reprinted from


August 23, 2002
Catherine Foster, Globe Staff 

TONY MCLEAN NAMED NEW BROADWAY IN BOSTON PRESIDENT

Tony has been an ATPAM member since 1995

Tony McLean, who has spent his professional life in for-profit theater, has been named president of Broadway in Boston, succeeding a man who sought to bridge the gap between for-profit and nonprofit theaters.

McLean, who takes office Sept. 30, joins the Broadway in Boston organization after serving two years as vice president of domestic touring for Disney Theatrical Productions. He replaces William Conner, who left Broadway in Boston in July to become president and chief executive officer of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, which is a not-for-profit arts organization that is based in Ohio. The announcement was made by Scott Zeiger, CEO of Clear Channel Entertainment Theatrical North America, which owns Broadway in Boston.

"Tony is an old and dear friend of Clear Channel Entertainment, with vast experience in presenting, producing, and real estate operations," Zeiger said in a statement. "We are lucky to have Tony and welcome him back to his original hometown."

McLean has managed more than 35 stage productions since 1979, when the Dorchester native received a BFA from Boston University's School of Theatre Arts. He was the general manager for the Zev Bufman Theatre Partnership, and executive producer for Pace Theatrical Group-Florida, Inc.

He also managed the Las Vegas company of "Starlight Express." His most recent responsibilities at Disney Theatrical included overseeing its touring division and its domestic tours of "Beauty and the Beast," "Aida," and "The Lion King. "

"I'm thrilled to be rejoining a group of people I've known and respected for years, and to bring my presenting experience and my years at Disney Theatrical back to my hometown," McLean said. "I look forward to once again becoming an active participant in the Boston arts community."

When Conner took the helm in 2000, the Wilbur and the Colonial theaters, which Broadway in Boston leases and runs, had only sporadically been lit. Since then, he's filled the Wilbur with "Wit," "The Vagina Monologues," and "Hamlet," and the Colonial with the musical hits "Contact" and "Mamma Mia!"

But more than bringing in good shows, Conner had a reputation for reaching out to the often-fractious arts community to build bridges between nonprofit and for-profit theaters. One of those partnerships resulted in a run at the Wilbur for the Huntington Theatre production of "Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme."

Josiah Spaulding, president and CEO of the Wang Center for the Performing Arts, said he and McLean had worked together successfully on numerous shows, with plans to co-present 10 this year. "We get along well, and we respect each other," Spaulding said. "I welcome the opportunity to work with someone I know. "

For others in the Boston theater community, McLean is an unknown quantity.

Michael Maso, managing director of the Huntington Theatre Company, doesn't know the new Broadway in Boston president. "[The hiring] probably means that this is a guy who's been successful in the commercial touring environment, and that's job number one here for Clear Channel," he said. "That doesn't mean he can't have a broader sense of his responsibilities and a role in the community. So I look forward to meeting him and seeing if we can continue to work together with Clear Channel."

Jeff Poulos, executive director of StageSource, a group that promotes professional nonprofit theater, said McLean has "some impressive commercial credentials and with a Boston tie that works to his advantage." But he also said the new president has some pretty big shoes to fill.

"Conner opened the door to nonprofits and encouraged collaboration," he says, "and we in the theater community will benefit from the groundwork that's been laid. We hope McLean will pick up the gauntlet."