The primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral history Project
Celebrating the visionaries who created New York's vibrant Off- and Off-Off-Broadway theater.
Janet Reed
Actor, Playwright, Producer, Writer, Editor Co-Founder, Primary Stages, Editorial Director — Educational Division, Scholastic Inc.Interviewed on: Monday, August 5, 2019
Location: At Casey Child's home
Interviewed by: Sally Plass
Interview #163
Photo Credit: Dan Ahearn
Video Length: 7 Minutes, 52 Seconds
Video Length: 2 Hours, 1 Minute
Janet Reed is an actor, playwright, producer, writer, editor and CO-FOUNDER OF PRIMARY STAGES. In her capacity as Producer and Playwright at Primary Stages she oversaw the production of such Off-Off-Broadway shows as: BERTRANO, OR HATS DON’T LIE (1986), LATE NIGHT SKETCHBOOK SERIES (1987), NASTY LITTLE SECRETS (1988), HOLLYWOOD SCHEHERAZADE (1989), SWIM VISIT (1990), THE SECRET SITS IN THE MIDDLE (1990), LUSTING AFTER PIPINO’S WIFE (1990), BOVVER BOYS (1990), BETTER DAYS (1991), MAKING BOOK (1992), THE DOLPHIN POSITION (1992), A MURDER OF CROWS (1992), BREAKING UP (1993), ALL IN THE TIMING (1994), THE HYACINTH MACAW (1994), YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY (1994), to name a few. With Diane Bank, Reed co-wrote and performed in SLIM AND VICIOUSand BEYOND BLOOMINGDALE’S at Primary Stages, The West Bank Café, and The Comic Strip. Reed’s MAKING BOOK was produced by Primary Stages in 1992 and published by Samuel French, and her HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL, a musical co-written with Daniel Ahearn, has an active life in regional theaters and schools. Reed wrote scripts for daytime television (The Guiding Light, As The World Turns). Currently she writes and publishes books for children aimed to inspire and educate. Reed has been nominated for both Emmy and Writers’ Guild of America awards and her educational products have won awards. Her Trade Book Don’t Call Me Pruneface! was published by Hyperion Books for Children in 2010.
Janet Reed began life in the theater as an actor. Her father, dubious about letting his daughter have a career on the stage, went to her first play and graded her performance. He gave her an A+, and she continued her acting career. Headed for regional theatre, she landed in New York City instead and, as a graduate of Carnegie Mellon, she and Casey Childs co-produced an evening for a Carnegie Alumni Fundraiser utilizing the scenes and skits from playwrights in the Carnegie canon. At the end of the event, Casey invited Janet to create a theater and together they co-founded Primary Stages. Reed eventually left her performance career to write and produce the plays of others.
Mentioned in Interview
Dan Ahearn, Diane Bank, Phil Bosakowski, Casey Childs, Michelle Bossy, Scott Elliott, Jessica Goldberg, Daniel Goldfarb, Willie Holtzman, David Ives, Andrew Leynse, Tyler Marchant, Zero Mostel, Charlie Peters, Jeff Wade, Mac Wellman,The Comic Strip, The New Group, Primary Stages, The Victory Theatre, West Bank Café, ALL IN THE TIMING, BAREFOOT BOY WITH SHOES ON, BEYOND BLOOMINGDALE’S, BLACK TIE, BOVVER BOYS, BREAKING UP, BRUTALITY OF FACT, CHASING MANET, DANIEL’S HUSBAND, DIVIDING THE ESTATE, DON JUAN IN CHICAGO, AN EMPTY PLATE IN THE CAFÉ DU GRAND BOEUF, HIGH SCHOOL CONFIDENTIAL, THE HYACINTH MACAW, THE DOLPHIN POSITION, HATE MAIL, HIGH LIFE, HOLLYWOOD SCHEHERAZADE, I SENT A LETTER TO MY LOVE, LATE NIGHT SKETCHBOOK SERIES, LUSTING AFTER PIPINO’S WIFE, MAKING BOOK, MERE MORTALS, MISSING/KISSING, THE MODEL APARTMENT, A MURDER OF CROWS, NASTY LITTLE SECRETS, NO NIGGERS, NO JEWS, NO DOGS, THE OLD SETTLER, PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, SABINA, ST. NICHOLAS, SCOTLAND ROAD, THE SECRET SITS IN THE MIDDLE, SLIM AND VICIOUS, THE STENDHAL SYNDROME, STRAIGHT AS A LINE, SWIM VISIT, THIS LIME TREE BOWER, “2” GOERING AT NUREMBERG, WHEN THEY SPEAK OF RITA, YOU SHOULD BE SO LUCKY