In this ShowbizU interview, Ryan Hugh Mackey recounts his path from a childhood fascination with theater to becoming a Broadway producer. At age ten, a high‑school production of Little Shop of Horrors, featuring the original Audrey II set, ignited his ambition. He briefly attended DePaul University’s theater program but left after a year to pursue a production assistant role on Disney’s pre‑Broadway tryout of Aida in Chicago, persisting for a year to secure the job. His work on Aida led to a recommendation for The Producers, where he started as a PA and eventually became Mel Brooks’ personal assistant—a turning point that opened doors to further shows like Sweet Smell of Success. After a five‑year relationship ended, he moved to New York with only $300, navigating the challenges of a new city while leveraging his Chicago experience and connections. Throughout, he reflects on the qualities that caught Mel Brooks’ attention—his Chicago background, willingness to be “crazy,” and dedication—offering insight into the gritty, opportunistic nature of theatrical production careers.
What sparked your journey into this world?
I was 10. My sister took me to a production of her high school's musical, which was Little Shop of Horrors, and they had rented the set, the plant, all the stuff from the off-Broadway production. And I had never seen a Broadway-caliber production.
And you saw the original Audrey II.
Yeah, so it just blew me away as a 10-year-old. I'm like, I want to I want to do that. And at first it was, I want to be up there. I did school plays and then I went to DePaul University's theater school to study producing, but you had to take acting classes as well just to be comfortable up there. But I was never really comfortable up there. So I decided to take a step back, be behind the curtain and kind of control things back there.
And that was in college when you were solidifying your formal education?
Yeah, well, I only stayed for a year actually. Back then it was '99. And Disney had announced that they were trying out Aida in Chicago. And I didn't really like the program, and I was like, you know what, maybe I'm just gonna try to get a job on that show. And I pestered Disney for a year. I mean, I'm not kidding, a year to give me a job as a production assistant. And lo and behold, they did. I wouldn't take no. So I met with Marshall Purdy, who was a producer on the show, and he was like, you got it. I'm like, great. And from there, it just kind of kept going. All the shows that would come through Chicago, the pre-Broadway tryouts, I would work on. From Aida, I guess I made an impression because they had told the stage manager for The Producers that hire this guy when you're out there. So I got a call to join The Producers. And starting as a production assistant on that show, I ultimately became Mel Brooks' assistant. He just kind of picked me out of the line. He was like, I need you. I'm like, okay. And that kind of just changed everything. That, that literally was the shift. So it just— from there, just, I did another show, Sweet Smell of Success, out in Chicago, and then I was like, I need to go to New York. What am I doing out here?
What do you think caught Mel's eye?
Um, I was there. I literally— it could have been anybody. It literally— I was working with my friend and it could have been her, but I think I knew Chicago. He didn't. He and his, um, his wife at the time, uh, Anne, had— she passed not too long ago, but They didn't know Chicago. Here I am literally wearing a t-shirt in the middle of January. They think I'm crazy. And, you know, I think that, you know, crazy follows crazy. Yes. So I was the one to go out and venture into the city with, uh, with Anne and show her around and go run around and grab things for Mel and Tommy Handt, the book writer, uh, and kind of do whatever they need me to do to make them comfortable while they were there.
Chicago, get on a plane or a bus, come to New York.
$300 in my pocket.
All right.
Take us through that journey. Yeah. I had just come out of a 5-year relationship, and so that was the impetus of me moving here.
As for many people.
Yeah, so it was like, what am I doing here? And then literally I just jumped right in. I got a job at the Roundabout selling subscriptions, and then I got a job at a real estate brokerage firm, and I got a call one day from the people that had company managed Sweet Smell out in Chicago saying, hey, we're company managing The Boy from Oz. Our assistant director had to leave. Do you want to be an assistant director? And I said, okay, I've never done it, but I'll do it. And then, so that was about 3 months after I moved here and then was on The Boy from Oz. It was a huge learning curve because now, you know, I was in the back room with, with Mel and Tom learning how the show was put together, and here I am helping put that show together, and I hadn't done that. Production assistant is, you know, go for this, go for that, right? Personal assistant is go for this, go for that. And here is assistant director. Go do this, go direct that. And so it was a different, different hat to wear, but I totally enjoyed it. I wouldn't want to do it again. It wasn't for me. However, you know, like every producer is a semi-director, right? So, you know, I do have that in me, but I wasn't in my element. And then from there, I actually, I got out of theater for a while after having worked for Mel and then working alongside Hugh. I ended up starting to work for high net worth individuals as their personal assistant. Made a ton more money doing that. And that was why I left. It was like, well, you know, theater is— I'm not leaving theater, I just need to make money. And so I did that for about 5 years and then came back into the fold when I worked for David Binder, who's the producer of Hedwig, and he's doing Up My Sleeve now. So I worked with him for 2 years. And while I was working with him, this is the craziest thing. I took a part-time job working in the Public Theater subscription department. I've always worked in box offices, so I'm used to working and selling things. And I called up this guy and I said, "Hey, you're gay and you love musicals, buy a subscription from me." And he said that, "You're presumptuous, and I write musicals." And I said, "No way, I'm a budding producer, what are you writing?" And he told me about this show about a young man in Edwardian England who finds out that he's 9th in line to be an heir, and I was like, I was like, wow, this sounds great. And he's like, oh, it gets better. He starts killing off everybody. I'm like, no way. And I'm like, is it a comedy? He's like, it's a musical comedy, a dark musical comedy. And one person plays all the murder victims. And I'm like, I'm totally sold. Let's meet. And now it's A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway. So it was like this one phone call literally changed my life. I helped out as much as I could to push the show. Things happened that didn't happen. And it took about 2 and a half years to really say, you know what, I want to do this, and then go put a team together. And then I did. I got my friend John on board, and then we went to Joey Barnes.
