Tootsie's Tony-Nominated Director Scott Ellis on How Roller Skating Led to His First Job & More

Scott Ellis recently received his ninth Tony nomination for directing Tootsie, which earned 11 nods including Best Musical. Ellis also helmed this season's revival of Kiss Me, Kate and already has big plans for the upcoming Take Me Out. While he has been directing productions for over 20 years, Ellis took his first Broadway bow wearing roller skates in The Rink. "Honestly, my first show, The Rink, started my career as a director," Ellis said to Beth Stevens in a recent interview on Broadway.com's #LiveAtFive. "If I hadn’t done The Rink I'm not sure if I would have a career. Knowing how to roller skate got me the job. I approached [composer John Kander and late lyricist Fred Ebb] about directing Flora the Red Menace; I have no clue where I got that chutzpah. It's Kander and Ebb for crying out loud, but it worked. I owe everything to that Broadway show."

Bringing a hit like Tootsie to the stage is no easy feat, and Ellis knew exactly who he needed to make it a success: "To me, casting is such an important part of directing," he said. I tend to cast people who are talented and right for the role, but also people who I want to be in a room with because that's where the joy is. The only control I have is what happens in the room. I spent two weeks with Santino [Fontana] and fell in love with him. He's so smart and collaborative. I said to the producers,' If you're looking for a big star, I have no interest. I'll only do it with him.'"

When it came to having both Tootsie and the Kiss Me, Kate revival on the Great White Way in the same season, Ellis had a very specific vision in mind. "I knew we needed major updates with both stories," he said. "For Kiss Me, Kate, I loved the story and the score is incredible, but we had to make changes. The only thing I knew was the book ends: I knew how I wanted to start and end, but we had to look at everything in between. With Amanda Green's help and rewriting some lyrics, we made it work."

Be sure to see Tootsie, now playing at the Marquis Theatre, and Kiss Me, Kate at Studio 54.

Watch the full #LiveAtFive episode below!