The primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral history Project
Celebrating the visionaries who created New York's vibrant Off- and Off-Off-Broadway theater.
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Geoffrey Johnson
Casting Director, Johnson-Liff Associates, Trustee, Noel Coward Foundation , US Representative, Noel Coward EstateBorn on Monday, June 23, 1930
Died on Friday, November 26, 2021
Interviewed on: Wednesday, October 24, 2018
Location: at Casey Childs' Apartment
Interviewed by: Casey Childs
Interview #142
Photo Credit: Jinsey Dauk
Video Length: 7 Minutes, 1 Second
Video Length: 1 Hour, 4 Minutes
Video Length: 1 Hour, 33 Minutes
Geoffrey Johnson began his theater career as an actor. He first performed in the Siobhan McKenna “Saint Joan” at the Phoenix Theater which moved from there to Broadway. His career as a stage manager off and on Broadway was firmly launched when he went on to the St. Louis Municipal Opera doing a musical a week ( 88 consecutive nights) without a day off!!! Working on auditions for Sail Away, written and directed by Noel Coward, Johnson began a lifelong professional relationship with Mr. Coward leading to his becoming the United States representative of his estate. As a stage manager he was responsible for auditions and casting shows in many instances, as was the practice then, unless a renowned producer had their own in-house casting directors. He had the opportunity to become a casting director when the producer David Merrick hired him. He went on to become an independent casting director, co-founding his own casting company, Johnson-Liff Associates, with fellow stage manager Vincent (‘Vinnie’) Liff.
Mentioned in Interview
Jerry Adler, Lauren Bacall, Pat Birch, Sarah Caldwell, Ina Claire, Noel Coward, Scott Ellis, Ian Fleming, Greta Garbo, Ulu Grossbard, Gerald Gutierrez, Dustin Hoffman, Judy Holiday, Vincent Liff, Romulus Linney, David Merrick, Nelle Nugent, Linda Otto, Harold Prince, George Quick, Jose Quintero, Ellis Rabb, Claude Rains, Jerome Robbins, Paul Rudd, Laurette Taylor, Constance Welch, Joyce Theatre, Lincoln Center, Lucille Lortel Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club, Old Phoenix Theater, Second Stage Theatre, Seventh Regiment Armory, Signature Theatre, WPA Theater, AMERICAN PASSION, ASPECTS OF LOVE, BOYS IN THE BAND, CAROUSEL, CRIMES OF THE HEART, DARK RAPTURE, THE FLOATING LIGHTBULB, JAR THE FLOOR, JEFFREY, KING HEDLEY II, KISS OF THE SPIDER WOMAN, THE LADY AND THE CLARINET, LEGENDS, LOOT, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, LIZA STEPPING OUT, MACBETH, A MADHOUSE IN GOA, MASS APPEAL, NIJINSKY’S LAST DANCE, THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, SAIL AWAY, SATURDAY NIGHT, A SENSE OF HUMOR, SWEET BIRD OF YOUTH, SWEET CHARITY, TAMARA, THIS IS OUR YOUTH