Scott Rudin, Larry Kramer, Rob Ashford & More Named to New York Observer's Top 50 'Power Gays'

As New York stage legislators consider making gay marriage legal, the weekly media-centric New York Observer has issued a list of “The New Power Gays: NYC’s Top 50.” The roster includes two playwrights, a theater director and two producers who have worked on Broadway.

Ranked #2 (behind NYC City Council speaker Christine Quinn) is Robert Greenblatt, chairman and president of programming of NBC. A producer of the stage adaptation of 9 to 5, Greenblatt championed his network’s new singing competition The Voice and greenlit the forthcoming Broadway-centric series Smash.

Just behind Greenblatt at #3 is Scott Rudin, the newly minted Best Musical Tony winner for producing The Book of Mormon, as well as recent Best Picture nominee The Social Network. Rudin also produced Best Play nominees Jerusalem and The Motherf**ker With the Hat while overseeing the filming of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Powerful indeed!

A pair of celebrated playwrights, Larry Kramer and Tony Kushner, make the list at #16 and #38, respectively. Kramer’s modern classic The Normal Heart just won the Tony for Best Revival, and Kushner has just completed a full season devoted to his work (including an acclaimed revival of Angels in America) at Signature Theatre Company.

Director/choreographer Rob Ashford ranks #42 on the power list on the strength of his multi-national theater career. A double Tony nominee for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Ashford is busy prepping Anna Christie at London's Donmar Warehouse and will helm the first Broadway revival of Evita next season.