Jack O'Brien Quotes

I don't think I should be telling you every 10 minutes what to think. I like to leave the audience alone with the magic. I tend to trust the material, or I don't do it.

You never get the Shakespeares right. It's not possible.

I was in love when I was in college; we all were. I remember how beautiful everybody was. Even the plain people looked beautiful.

For a production that suggests a mysterious dreamscape, I have a particular affection for the Vivian Beaumont Theater. It is the largest dramatic space available in New York City in terms of plays, although musicals have been done there very successfully as well.

The single most important thing that I feel responsible for is that the company cherishes the work.

Meeting Mike Nichols was a sort of lifetime occupation.

I have a company attitude about my work. I don't like to do just one thing; I like to do a lot of things.

When I looked at the skeleton of 'Damn Yankees,' I saw an indestructible story, absolutely original characters, one of the freshest, sassiest American scores of the century, and some outmoded equipment.

Out of nowhere, I became a fairly well-known director with a penchant for opera, which I did for 10 years. Then I realized I was taking myself out the theater channel, and so I re-focused on theater.

I'm not a director who feels I should be in your face all the time. I really want you to watch the actors and listen to the play.

It just so happens that my oldest and best friend is Bob James, the Grammy-winning great jazz pianist!

Shakespeare pulls on us and demands the best of us. You never successfully wrestle one of his plays to the ground and say, 'See? That's It!'

I weave the company into what we laughingly call 'Jack's novel.' I write this novel for them about who they are and what's going on in their world. When I had 90 people in 'Porgy and Bess,' each had a story, history and family relationship.