Purchase College, State University of New York’s Broadway Technical Theatre History Project will present the Eleventh “Backstage Legends and Masters Award” to Michael Wyatt on Monday, April 28, 2025 at 7 p.m. at The Performing Arts Center, Recital Hall Theatre, located at 735 Anderson Hill Road, Purchase, NY. This free event is open to the public and will be streamed live via Zoom Webinar. It will also be recorded for future viewing. 

After working on a range of non-Broadway productions in NYC, around the United States, and internationally, Michael started his Broadway career in 1978 as the Assistant Carpenter for Automation on the musical production of Whoopee! and then spent the next four and a half decades helping to shape and support a host of Broadway productions.

Michael joins previous Backstage Legends and Masters honorees Artie Siccardi (2012), Arnold Abramson (2013), Fred Gallo (2014), Gene O’Donovan (2015), Pete Feller, Sr. (2016), Joseph B. Forbes (2017), Alyce Gilbert (2018), David Rosenberg (2019), William M. (Michael) Mensching (2023), and Bill Gorlin (2024).

With experience working at Hart Scenic Studios and the Radio City Music Hall scene shop, Michael was hired as the second employee at the newly formed Broadway scene shop Hudson Scenic Studios.  After working at Hudson on several productions, he moved to the legendary Broadway scene shop Feller Precision.  At the time, the use of computer-controlled automation on Broadway was unheard of, but Michael was directly involved in developing the first such system while at Feller.  The Tap Dance Kid, which opened in December 1983, was the first Broadway production to use this new system and was a threshold moment for the use of computer-controlled automation.  A few years later, Michael moved to Scenic Technologies and helped create the computer-controlled automation system for Phantom of the Opera which was used for the entire 35-year run.

The list of Broadway productions Michael worked on include Cats, Sunday in the Park with George, 42^nd Street, Miss Saigon, Titanic, Ragtime, Fosse, Wicked, The Book of Mormon, Tommy, Pippin, Dear Evan Hansen, Waitress, Come From Away, King Kong, Bad Cinderella, Hell’s Kitchen, and many more.  In addition to having worked on well over 100 productions, Michael is a coholder of three patents related to automation.

“Michael is one of those people who has been directly involved in advances related to Broadway theatre and the technology that makes today’s productions possible,” said Dan Hanessian, Associate Professor at Purchase, who launched the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project in 2011. “Like so many of the people who have been critical to the success of Broadway, Michael is a perfect example of the unsung hero who worked tirelessly in our industry without the level of recognition – and thanks – his work deserves” Hanessian concluded. 

Currently, the Director of the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project and an Associate Professor in the Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Purchase College, Hanessian has been training up-and-coming technical directors and production managers in the Design/Technology Program for over 30 years.

 

About the Backstage Legends and Masters and the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project

“Backstage Legends and Masters” -- founded by Dan Hanessian -- is an annual public presentation spotlighting individuals who have been central to the realization of Broadway productions for many years but are not typically provided recognition through the Tony or Drama Desk awards. Each year, an individual is selected by a panel of distinguished professionals who represent a variety of Broadway production specialties.

“The goal of the Broadway Technical Theatre History Project is to create a living history of the shops and technical personnel who have played a role in the realization of Broadway productions,” Hanessian explained.

This information will be available to the public in a centralized database. The project will also include a visual history and timeline of the shops. For more information, contact Dan Hanessian at dan.hanessian@purchase.edu or (914) 251-6854.

 

About the Theatre Design/Technology Program at Purchase College

Housed in the Conservatory of Theatre Arts, the professional training program emphasizes studio and classroom training, all under the guidance and support of established theatre industry professionals. Many of the program’s alumni are recognized at the top of their field, and have received Tony, Emmy, Obie, and Drama Desk awards, among other honors. Purchase grads are working in or have worked in every theatre on Broadway, in all Tristate venues, and with countless touring productions. After the common freshman-year curriculum, students may choose to concentrate in scenic design, costume design, lighting design, sound design, costume technology, stage management, or technical direction/production management.

 

About Purchase College, SUNY

Purchase College, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) network of 64 universities and colleges, was founded in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller. His aspiration for Purchase was to create a dynamic campus that combined conservatory training in the visual and performing arts with programs in the liberal arts and sciences, in order to inspire an appreciation for both intellectual and artistic talents in all students. Today, Purchase College, SUNY is a community of students, faculty, and friends where open-minded engagement with the creative process leads to a lifetime of intellectual growth and professional opportunity. For more information about the college, visit www.purchase.edu.