The producer Diego Kolankowsky these days celebrates a decade of success on Broadway, a cycle that has a finishing touch: the four nominations for the Tony Awards for the revival of American Buffalo. “In a period of four years I went from being an unknown to one of the creatives of the most important works in the industry”, celebrates Kolankowski, winner of two Martin Fierro as a journalistic producer “The cornice” and “Zoo”. “‘Spring Awakening’ It had three Tony nominations and was hugely successful. Then came ‘Once On This Island’, an immersive work on a circular stage and everything that happened happened… We won the Tony against giants like Disney“, review.
And after two years of paused productions as a result of the pandemic, his return to New York greets him with applause: “American Buffalo” is celebrated by critics, and “Beetlejuice”is a bestseller that relaunches a film from the late eighties to a new generation that asks for a sequel.
Single, amber’s dad, and a tireless worker who prides himself on sleeping little to maximize his management hours, his is an epic of “self made man”. “My story is that of a lower-middle-class family in Argentina. One of those families that has fallen apart over the years and the various upheavals. I am the son of a newspaper man who played the bandoneon and a seamstress from Tucumán”, he introduces himself who, like Argentina, quickly recovers from its crises.
NEWS: How did you experience the pandemic?
Diego Kolankowski: Like many, I suppose, it was a difficult process. At the beginning of 2019, he was with two plays on Broadway, “Beetlejuice”, the musical version of the Tim Burton film, and the revival of “American Buffalo”, by David Mamet, with Sam Rockwell, Laurence Fishburne and Darren Criss. And that stopped from one day to the next without knowing very well how it was going to continue, and with sunk costs.
NEWS: How did you come back after that process?
Kolankowski: At the end of last year the reopening of theaters began, and Broadway did its best, in terms of production and creativity, to face a historic comeback. New York is hit by what the pandemic left, but Broadway sees a return full of exquisite productions, and with a first line of actors and producers at the forefront that are proof of the victory of art over tragedy.
NEWS: Among those casts is that of “American Buffalo.”
Kolankowski: It is a dream cast, and a wonderful company, which was waiting for two years, and which devotedly supported the possibility of finally being able to do the work.
NEWS: How did the play and that cast come about?
Kolankowski: Jeffrey Richards knows about my fanaticism for David Mamet and he convinced me. It’s my first text play as a producer on Broadway. And as for the cast, Laurence Fishburne approached Sam (Rockwell), and then Darren Criss (“Glee”) joined. And we don’t just have Oscar and Golden Globe winners. We have three wonderful people who continued to rehearse during the pandemic on Zoom. That is why from the premiere the work shone and was highlighted by the New York Times.
NEWS: How are you as a producer?
Kolankowski: Very present. In New York I go to the theater every day. I must be one of the few producers who is at every show. And I know everyone who works in the theater. From the usher to the illuminator. I like to hear what they have to say. “American Buffalo” has a limited time on the billboard, because it is the one that the actors had. It was a sales pitch and it worked: we are sold out.
NEWS: Were they recognized?
Kolankowski: The production was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Revival, Best Direction for Neil Pepe, Best Scenic Design for Scott Pask, and Best Performance for Sam Rockwell.
NEWS: And with “Beetlejuice” do you have another success?
Kolankowski: It’s an amazing musical. From the visual with the scenarios and Burtonesque visual effects. The costumes, the music, the humor, and its slightly anarchist spirit. But beyond that, it has a love story that moves me, and it has that counterpoint between the protagonists. A young woman who wants to die and a demon who longs to be alive. Good stories never go out of style. The film with Michael Keaton is from the late 1980s. And many of the boys and girls who come to see the play today rediscover it and it is a phenomenon on the networks.
NEWS: Will you also see the competition?
Kolankowski: I am a member of the Broadway League, an association that brings together producers, theater owners, operators and general managers from New York and from more than 250 cities in the United States. And I vote in the Tonys. To qualify you have to be the main producer, win a Tony… I completed all of them in one year and I’m the only Argentine. It is a pride and a pleasure. I’m going to see the competition for enjoyment.
NEWS: Has Broadway recovered as an industry?
Kolankowski: The recovery is felt more in Argentina than in the United States. The inflation there is palpable and also hits the pocket. But on Broadway things work as they should. There they open the microphone for you in meetings and if what you say seems interesting to them, they apply it. If you hit it, they look at you with different eyes.
NEWS: Do you have time for personal life?
Kolankowski: It is easier for me to generate a success on Broadway than to find the woman of my life. I am very demanding to “cast” that role (laughs). But I play the guitar, I listen to music, I watch series, I read a lot and I cook barbecues for friends.
