Emanuel "Manny" Azenberg (born January 22, 1934) is an award-winning American theatre producer and general manager whose professional relationship with playwright Neil Simon spans thirty-three years.
Azenburg was born in The Bronx and attended the Bronx High School of Science. He became interested in the theatre after seeing his uncle, former Yiddish theatre actor Wolfe Barzell, perform in the 1948 play Skipper Next to God by Jan de Hartog. After studying at New York University and serving time in the United States Army, he became the assistant company manager for The Legend of Lizzie, an ill-fated 1959 play that closed after two performances. He worked for David Merrick and Alexander H. Cohen before earning his first producing credit with The Lion in Winter in 1966.[1]
Azenburg first met Neil Simon in 1963 when the two played softball with Robert Redford, who was appearing in Simon's play Barefoot in the Park at the time.[1] Their professional association began with The Sunshine Boys in 1972 and continued with The Good Doctor, God's Favorite, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, I Ought to Be in Pictures, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Lost in Yonkers, Jake's Women, The Goodbye Girl, and Laughter on the 23rd Floor, among others.[2]
Additional Azenberg credits include Mark Twain Tonight!, George M!, The Rothschilds, Two Gentlemen of Verona, Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death, Sticks and Bones, That Championship Season, The Wiz, Ain't Misbehavin', Whose Life is it Anyway?, Master Harold...and the Boys, The Real Thing, Sunday in the Park with George, A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, The Iceman Cometh, Rent, Movin' Out, Stones in His Pockets, and Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of La Bohème.[2]
In an interview with the New York Times, Azenberg observed, "I am not a deep thinker. I am not a writer, though I recognize good ideas when I see them. I am there to service people. A producer creates an atmosphere — or tries to — that is genuinely comfortable, so the best creative work can take place. You try to keep peace, because there are so many disparate groups within the theatre." [1]
Azenberg also has taught theatre at Duke University for two decades.[1] He was elected to the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2009. He is married to Lani Sundsten, a one-time dancer and the original stage manager for Cats, and the father of five children: Karen, Lisa, Rebecca, Jessica, and Joshua.