Michael Eisner Sees One-Man Play, Makes it a Web Series

Marc Wolf’s one-man Off Broadway show took an interesting twist during its transformation into a digital series. For starters, it was originally titled Another American: Asking and Telling. The play, based on Wolf’s interviews with over 150 gay and lesbian military personnel (as well as others) deeply affected by the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, premiered at the 99 seat DR2 theatre in New York City.

In a miraculous twist of fate, one of the theatre patrons was former Disney CEO and Vuguru founder Michael Eisner. He liked the show and left the theatre with the idea of turning Wolf’s work into the digital program that would soon become Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.

Adapting a one-man show isn’t a normal occurrence in the web series world, but Vuguru brought in a director and well known creative consultant to turn the play into a multi-platform property. “Turning a one man show into an engaging project to be seen as a whole or in chapters is a challenge,” said Kristin Jones, Vuguru’s Chief Creative Officer. “But John Walsh (director) and Mary Harron (creative consultant and director of American Psycho) had an amazing vision and knew how to best showcase Marc Wolf

In the play and subsequent series, Wolf portrays a broad range of people who have differing opinions and experiences with the military’s now-repealed “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy, including Charles Moskos, the author of the policy. “Each of these characters has such an incredible story to tell, and encompasses such a range of emotions” said Jones when asked about how the play appealed to Vuguru.

As a viewer, I agree. The Don’t Ask Don’t Tell more than effectively captured my attention and was a joy to watch. Wolf embodies the characters with such commitment, it’s easy to embrace them, as well as the format of the series. You can check it out for yourself in episodic format on SnagFilms or in a feature length format on Amazon.com, Comcast Xfinity and FIOS Video on Demand. It’s a unique one-man series definitely worth a watch.