Pop Culturalist Chats with Jim Burba and Bob Hayes

A few weeks ago, we were gushing over Broadway’s new groovy hit Disaster! and recently we were lucky enough to speak to two of the masterminds behind the show: producing duo Jim Burba and Bob Hayes. These hotel and tourism tycoons are now exploring their talents in the theater industry and we couldn’t be happier. The long time life and business partners took the time to answer a few questions about their new book, their favorite musicals and the most rewarding part about being on board of the Disaster! creative deck.

A Couple of (Non) Disastrous Questions

PC: You two have plenty of experience in the hotel/hospitality industry. How did you get involved with the theater?

Jim: Bob has a saying, “Everyone you know knows someone you should know,” and that’s how we came to be producers of Disaster! on Broadway. We have a place in Palm Springs, and several years ago we hosted a party for our friend Lorna Luft (Judy Garland’s daughter, Liza Minelli’s sister) who was getting an award from the Desert AIDS Project for her humanitarian work. Seth Rudetsky was performing at the award gala, so Lorna asked us to invite Seth to her pre-gala party. We did, he came, and he brought Jack Plotnick with him to the party. Through Jack we learned that he and Seth had written a show, Disaster!, that was playing Off-Broadway. There were plans to bring it to Broadway. One thing led to another, and we found ourselves producing a Broadway musical.

Bob: You know, Michael Eisner (former head of Disney) once told us that people in the hotel business are really in the entertainment business because we take people away from their everyday lives, just like a movie or a Broadway musical does. We produce live events for the hotel industry, so when we heard Michael’s words, a light bulb went on. Why couldn’t we take our live event experience and make it work in entertainment? That’s how this journey started.

PC: What are the challenges, if any, of producing a show with well-known names? Did you feel any pressure knowing the audience had high expectations? (Adam Pascal, for example.)

Jim: We have a dream cast. So much talent on one stage at the same time. They are all pros, they are all great people, and they give it their all for every performance. It really is like a family. With the stars we have, we’re sure the audience has high expectations, but we think our group far exceeds those expectations. Every performance.

PC: As producers, you need to cooperate with the rest of the creative team (directors, writers, etc.). How do you manage to keep everyone on the same page and happy?

Bob: We have a great lead producer in Rob Ahrens. Rob has the delicate task of bridging the creative side and the production side of things. We knew going in that we should communicate with the creatives through Rob. However, this is sometimes tricky because we’re personal friends with Seth and Jack. It’s hard to get together with the guys and not get into creative talk with them, but for the most part we follow the “rules.”

PC: What is the most rewarding aspect of producing a Broadway show?

Bob: Seeing people realize their dreams. Seth Rudetsky and Jack Plotnick have worked on Disaster! for years. Some of our cast are making their Broadway debuts in this show. We can’t imagine how exciting it must be for them. We’re also making our Broadway debuts as producers, so we get little taste of what they must be feeling.

PC: Do you have any interest in one day directing or writing a play? Or would you like to stick to producing?

Jim: For now, producing. But, writing is something we have been doing a lot of lately with our book. Who knows, maybe our book will be turned into a play one of these days. Or a musical. We’ll have to talk to Seth and Jack about that.

PC: What do you consider to be the biggest accomplishment of your careers?

Jim: Being life partners for 26 years and business partners for 16 years and not killing each other along with way (LOL). But seriously, the basis for our business is giving back to the community. Where we live and where we work. Through our events, our business has contributed millions of dollars to education, research, and scholarships for kids. That is very rewarding.

Bob: Disaster! is doing a lot of after-show shows with great stars to raise money for Broadway Cares/Equity for AIDS, which we think is so wonderful. Seth performs in Disaster!, then performs with these amazing people. That is very rewarding. Disaster! is making a big difference and contributing to the community.

PC: We know your book will be released September 2016. Congratulations! Any details you can share with us about the book?

Bob: We’re very excited that our book Smart Partners is coming out in September. We’ve been working on it for several years now. People kept asking us how we maintain a balance between our personal and business partnerships. We didn’t really have an answer, which got us thinking about writing our thoughts down. That evolved into compiling a list of partnership “principles” that work for us, which became the basis of the book.

Jim: We talked to a number of friends and colleagues who are in business partnerships, and their stories are in the book too. We explore how you pick a perfect partner, how you keep a partnership going strong, and what happens when a partnership hits the rocks. It’s a business book, but we weave our personal partnership into the principles as well.

PC: What advice would you give aspiring producers? Especially partners who share lives AND careers?

Bob: We have found that it’s all about timing, talent, money, and luck. Bringing all of those things together at one time is the hard part, and it can be stressful. A lot of things are out of your control. But if you pick your partners carefully (read our book for tips), the process will be a lot easier. Not easy, but easier.

Jim: Going back to Bob’s comment about everyone you know…it really is about the people you meet and the relationships you build. It takes a small army to put on an event or a show, so you want the best people you can find to be part of that team. Respecting and trusting the people on your team is key.

Bob: Martinis help too.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure movie & television show?

Jim: For me, it’s Meet the Press on Sunday mornings. Is that a guilty pleasure? For Bob, he hates to admit that he watches the Real Housewives (New York, Beverly Hills, and Orange County). There’s something about fighting divas on TV that got him hooked on the show.

Bob: For movies, well we’re partial to our Space Station 76 that we co-produced in 2014. Disaster! director Jack Plotnick co-wrote and directed it. Matt Bomer, Patrick Wilson, and Liv Tyler star in the drama/comedy that takes place on a 1970s space station. And we have another movie coming out soon. Walking Out, a father/son story shot in Montana is in post-production.

PC: An artist(s) fans would be surprised to know is on your playlist?

Bob: Beethoven? We listen to classical music every morning. And Kelly Clarkson. Jim sat next to her on an airplane once, and he didn’t know who she was. He does now.

PC: Favorite play or musical?

Bob: Besides Disaster!, right? So many. I saw the original Chorus Line, and that was my introduction to Broadway. Rent was amazing. Kinky Boots with Billy Porter was fantastic.

Jim: Hedwig and the Angry Inch was incredible. We didn’t get to see Neil Patrick Harris in it, but we did see Darren Criss play Hedwig. He was great!

PC: Favorite book?

Jim: We’re not big readers. But Bob just finished our friend Ross Mathew’s book Man Up! Ross is hysterical, and so is his book. Of course Smart Partners will be our favorite book when it comes out in September.

PC: Favorite Social Media platform?

Jim: Bob does all of the social media. He’ll tell me when so and so replied or retweeted or sent a message. I don’t really have the time to spend following up on all of that. Fortunately, Bob loves it.

Bob: We’re big on Twitter (@BurbaHayes). We, or I should say I, tweet a lot. We’re also on Facebook (BurbaHayes), Instagram (BurbaHayes), and for business related posts we each have our own accounts on LinkedIn. Of course, I post for Jim.

You heard Bob! Follow the duo on Twitter and if you haven’t seen Disaster! yet, you can purchase tickets here (the final performance is this Sunday).

Photo Credit: Burbahayes.com