Power producer of musicals Rent and Hamilton tells his story in a book

American Broadway producer Jeffrey Seller is, by any measure, enormously successful.

- Michael Paulson

NEW YORK -

He has produced — always in collaboration with others — about 10 shows that have collectively grossed US$4.74 billion (S$6.1 billion), about one-third of which was profit for producers, investors and others.

His first big hit was Rent (1996) and his most recent, Hamilton (2015). In between were Avenue Q (2003) and In The Heights (2008), but also plenty of others that did not flourish.

For a long time, Seller, now 60 and the winner of four best-musical Tony Awards, had complicated feelings about how he fit in. He was adopted as an infant and grew up in a downwardly mobile and fractious family in a Detroit suburb.

Theatre was where he found pleasure and meaning — a way out and a way up.

Now, he has written a memoir, Theater Kid, published on May 6. It is a coming-of-age and rags-to-riches story that is unsparing in its description of his colourfully challenged and challenging father, unabashed in its description of his sexual awakening, and packed with behind-the-scenes detail, especially about the birth of Rent.

In an interview at his office in the theatre district, Seller spoke about his life, his career and his book. These are edited excerpts from the interview.

You do not need the money or the attention. Why write a memoir?

I wrote it to figure out why I am here. I wrote it to try to figure out how I fit in. And I guess I wrote it as an exercise in squashing all of my shame at being an adopted, gay, Jewish, poor kid and always feeling like an outsider.

What did you learn about yourself?