To The Max: Max Weitzenhoffer’s Magical Trip from Oklahoma to New York and London―and Back

Theatrical producers who make it big on Broadway often start their climb from the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City, not the raucous frontier. Even fewer would dream of becoming a successful theatre owner in the storied West End of London. A third-generation Oklahoman, Max Weitzenhoffer has a life story as unique and colorful as you will find, a remarkable blend of risk-taking, glamour, and glitz that has been enriched by saloon keepers, oil wildcatters, wealthy art patrons, artists, and Broadway and Hollywood stars. When it comes to both the art world and the theatre, there is not much Weitzenhoffer has not accomplished—while maintaining his lifelong ties to Oklahoma and his beloved University of Oklahoma, to which he donated his family’s $50 million art collection. But his real fame came on Broadway, where he produced two Tony Award winners, Dracula and the hit musical The Will Rogers Follies, and partnered with some of the biggest names in the business, including Andrew Lloyd Webber. Today, he and his business partner Nica Burns own six theatres in London, one of which is home to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts I and II. Clearly, here is a man who was born to put on a show, and what a show it has been!