Producing Theatre On The World’s Biggest Stage With Carmen Pavlovic

Have you ever thought about what goes into a Broadway production? I mean really thought about it? For one, it can cost upwards of $20M (yes, million) to put a show together that includes scenery, costumes, lighting, and rehearsals just to name a few expenses. Then there’s the time commitment. It often takes several years to write a Broadway musical from conception to a theatre-ready score, and then do everything else from creating the scenery to hiring the cast. 

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Carmen Pavlovic, co-owner and CEO of Global Creatures has done that many times worldwide, but she didn’t always feel like she fit into the theatre scene. “For many years in the industry I really felt like an imposter,” Pavlovic says “I’d be sitting at the dinner party and people would go around and say, ‘What was the musical you saw that changed everything and made you know you wanted to be in the industry?’ I didn’t have that story, and I think I realize now what I really liked was storytelling.”

Pavlovic got her MBA and soon after, landed a job working for Andrew Lloyd Weber’s company in Australia. Eventually, she worked her way up in the theatre world and started Global Creatures with business partner Gerry Ryan. “Gerry was the greatest supporter of playing the long game,” Pavlovic says “He always said, ‘I don’t invest in businesses, I invest in people, and I am backing Carmen.’ I look back now and think not only has that been the greatest gift for me, of course, but he’s going to have the last laugh because, the success of Moulin Rouge! The Musical is indisputable, but we had to go through a 10-year period of highs and lows for that to eventuate.”

Pavlovic and Global Creatures debuted Moulin Rouge! The Musical on Broadway in June of 2019, and then nine months later made the heartbreaking decision to shut it all down due to the pandemic. But the team at Global Creatures refused to give up, and 18 months later in September of 2021, they reopened. They are the first Australian theatre company ever to originate a show on Broadway and Moulin Rouge! The Musical earned them 10 Tony Awards including Best Musical. 

Listen to the How She Does It podcast to hear about the many years of hard work it took to make the show, including working with 160 composers represented by 30 publishers to license the music alone, and why Carmen reads all the reviews — both good and bad. 

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