David Ian (born David Ian Lane
February 1961
is a British theatre producer and former actor.

Biography

Ian started out as an actor and appeared in a number of UK theatre productions, including the musicals ''

The Pirates of Penzance ''The Pirates of Penzance; or, The Slave of Duty'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert. Its official premiere was at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in New York City on 31 December 1879 ...

'', ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Th ...

'', and ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

''. He is known professionally as David Ian as the name David Lane was already taken when he applied to the actors union Equity. As a singer, Ian twice attempted to represent the UK at the Eurovision Song Contest, taking part in both the 1984 and 1986 ''

A Song for Europe A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' competitions on BBC1 as a member of the bands First Division and Jump respectively. Both songs were written by Paul Curtis. In 1990 David met fellow actor Paul Nicholas while they were both appearing in a production of ''The Pirates of Penzance'' at the London Palladium. The pair created a production company, Paul Nicholas & David Ian Associates Ltd.

Productions

Ian's productions include: * ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' * ''Grease'' * ''Rocky Horror Show'' * ''Ain’t Misbehavin'' * ''Singin’ in the Rain'' * ''Evita'' * ''Chess'' * ''Happy Days'' * ''Saturday Night Fever'' * ''West Side Story'' * ''Pirates of Penzance''

Producer

In 2006, he founded David Ian Productions, based in London's Covent Garden. It is now of the UK's premier producers of live large scale theatrical entertainment. Prior to founding DIP, he was Chairman/CEO of the global theatrical division of

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertain ...

(from 2005) having joined the group when it was part of Clear Channel Entertainment (in 2000). At Live Nation, he was responsible for Broadway Across America, which produces and tours first class

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

shows in over 40 markets in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

. He was simultaneously CEO of the UK division which included over 25 theatres both in London’s West End and the majority of the regional markets in the UK.

''How Do You Solve A Problem Like Maria?''

In 2006, David Ian and

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musica ...

agreed to co-produce a production of ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

''. Together with the BBC they created the original TV casting show '' How Do You Solve a Problem like Maria?'', hosted by

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his come ...

. Ian, along with Lloyd Webber, was a judge on the programme. The TV show was a resounding success and led to the launch of ''The Sound of Music'' as a smash hit, starring

Connie Fisher Connie Fisher (born 17 June 1983) is a British actress, singer and TV presenter, who won the BBC One talent contest, '' How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?'' On 15 November 2006, she opened to excellent reviews in the part of Maria von Trapp ...

at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ian, David 1961 births Living people People from Chadwell Heath English male stage actors People educated at Ilford County High School English theatre managers and producers Date of birth missing (living people)