Charlie Urstadt grew up in New York and spent much of his adult life and career in the commercial real estate business, growing and eventually selling a real estate investment firm. But the seeds of his second career were planted in 2015, when he moved to New Orleans with his now husband, David Bernard, who was a popular TV meteorologist at the time.
Bernard, who made a local name for himself at WWL-TV in the 1990s, had just accepted a new position at WVUE-TV. Urstadt had time and money on his hands, so became immersed in the local community, serving on the boards of the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, the Preservation Resource Center and Le Petit Theatre.
Along the way, he met Dale Mott, a Tony Award-winning Broadway producer who also lives in New Orleans. Mott pitched Urstadt on teaming up with him to produce plays that showcase the works of little-known artists and writers. Edgewood Entertainment was born.
There’s no question that Mott and Urstadt, who is the CEO of the company, want to get their shows on Broadway. But Edgewood said the mission is larger than fame and fortune. Urstadt and Mott want to give voice and exposure to artists of color and from the LGBTQ community. Since its founding in 2023, the company has produced or is in the process of producing five plays, including one currently showing in Los Angeles, one opening next month in Philadelphia and two scheduled to debut on Broadway next year.
In this week’s Talking Business, Urstadt discusses Edgewood’s mission and why he and Mott are based in New Orleans, a relative outpost in the world of theater.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did a career in real estate prepare you to be a theater producer?
Theater production is really specialized and really fascinating, and I draw comparisons with real estate. If you are developing a building, you bring in experts who each have something to add to the project, whether the architect, or engineer, or so on. The same goes for theater production. You have the creatives — the artists, the writers, the musicians — and then you have someone in charge of the financing and finding the money.
The magic is in putting together all the pieces. That’s what I do.
The mission of Edgewood Entertainment is not only to produce good theater but to give a voice to traditionally marginalized artists and communities. Why?
I grew up in New York, so as a child my mom dragged me to the Broadway theaters. I never thought it would be something professional but I did love it so when I met Dale and he recruited me, it felt right and that’s because of our mission.
Our focus is not just production, but we’re really focused on bringing new artists — whether people of color, LGBTQ people, women, people who have not had the opportunity to get people out there — in front of a commercial audience.
So how does it work, producing a play?
Sometimes you start the production out of town — I mean in a smaller market than Broadway where you can make your mistakes and see how the audience reacts and how theater critics respond — and then bring it to Broadway. Or, if it’s the right show, you can open on Broadway and depending on how it does, then you can tour the country, and everyone wants to see it because it was a hit on Broadway.
You make it sound easy. It’s not. It’s also expensive, I assume?
A big, full-fledged musical can be anywhere from $19 million to $24 million. A play can be anywhere from $7 million to $10 million. That is a lot of money, and that is just getting to Broadway. Then, you have to keep it there week to week.
Who are your investors? Are there private equity funds for theater?
We have a number of investors who have worked with us in past shows who believe in what we are doing and believe in the theater, and they’re willing to jump in when we give them the green light. It takes a network of individuals, and we rely on other producers. The theater world is kind of a club and the producers of the world all know each other so there is a regular network of people we go to.
Are there any local investors?
Absolutely, but I’m not going to name them. I am well known now in circles in New Orleans and though my group of investors are mostly from New York or other parts of the country I also have folks based here.
How does New Orleans factor into what Edgewood Entertainment is doing?
Well. Dale and I both live here and this is our headquarters, even though most of our work is outside of Louisiana. New Orleans is my life and being part of the theater world I have really focused on what is going on here — and being on the board of Le Petit gives me insight into that.
I think the theater community needs attention and I am particularly concerned about the education of our young people. Theater is such an important part of education and, like all the arts, it has been marginalized to a degree.
But the great thing about theater is that it is participatory and communal and we are good at that in New Orleans. People here turn out to see things and attend things in person. They are willing to spend money to go to a concert. That gives me great hope for the future of theater both here and around the country.