Anne Hamburger
Anne Hamburger is a cultural entrepreneur and producer and the President, Executive Producer of En Garde Arts that creates and produces site-specific theatre and multi-media experiences. Hamburger has a 360 degree approach to producing shows where content, form, place and community and audience are all interwoven into the producing process. Her specialty is putting together artistic and production teams and developing shows from the ground up with some of the theatre's most esteemed writers, directors, composers and designers. A description of current projects under development can be found on her web page Engardearts.org.
Anne Hamburger is also producing commercial projects under the mantle Big Heart Theatrical. Her first foray into Broadway is an adaptation of John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by Alfred Uhry and directed by Rob Ashford. It is being co-produced by Craig Haffner.
Anne Hamburger was Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Creative Entertainment from 2000–2008,[1] the global organization which was founded with her arrival to the Disney Company. She spearheaded the creative development of all the major stage shows, parades and daytime and nighttime spectacles for all the parks worldwide. She brought a whole host of well-known theatrical artists into the theme parks for the first time in Disney history, creating Broadway caliber productions around the world including Diane Paulus ("Hair", "Porgy and Bess"); Robert Lopez ("Avenue Q", "The Book of Mormon"); Eric Schaffer ("Million Dollar Quartet"). Her production of "Aladdin" directed by Francesca Zambello recently celebrated its 10,000th performance in the 2,000 seat Hyperion Theatre in California.
Prior to joining The Walt Disney Company, Hamburger was the Artistic Director of La Jolla Playhouse in 1999–2000. Thoroughly Modern Millie the musical began production under her tenure and later transferred to Broadway and won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2002. She also was one of the original producers for the Tony Award winning Spring Awakening, giving the creative team their first workshop in 2000.
From 1986 to 1999, Hamburger was the Founder and Executive Producer of En Garde Arts in New York City where she won international acclaim for large scale, "site-specific" productions which resurrrected defunct performing spaces and brought attention to important landmarks, historic streets and striking architectural structures. Called "an invigorating urban presence" by The New York Times, En Garde Arts was the recipient of six Obie Awards, two Drama Desk Awards and a special Outer Critics Circle Award. Hamburger was recognized with the Edwin Booth and Lee Reynolds Awards for the impressive body of her work. She graduated with an MFA from the Yale School of Drama.