Growing up, Morgan Steward knew exactly where she wanted to be: New York City, working on Broadway. In her small Southeast Texas town, she had no connections to the city and “never dreamed of being on stage,” but she was infatuated with theater. So, she enrolled at Fordham College at Lincoln Center.
Since graduating with a degree in communications and new media and digital design, she’s been living her dream. She’s an associate producer at Jill Furman Productions. And she was nominated for a 2024 Tony Award for her role as a co-producer of Suffs, Shaina Taub’s acclaimed musical based on the American women’s suffrage movement.
We caught up with Steward at legendary Broadway hotspot Sardi’s. She shed some light on her path and shared some tips for students who want to find their own way to a career on Broadway. But first, we asked …
What does a Broadway producer do?
Steward called that “the million-dollar question.” She said there’s no such thing as a typical day when you work in theater, especially as a producer. She likened a Broadway show to a startup and the producer to the CEO. “It’s the producer’s job to hire for every aspect, and once you put the team together that’s going to shepherd your show into the future, you are working with each team to make sure that the overall vision is cohesive in creating a good show.”
Now, her tips …
1. See as Much Theater as You Can
It doesn’t all have to be on Broadway. After all, Suffs got its start as an off-Broadway production, as did Hamilton. The goal, Steward said, is not just to take it all in but to be able to think and “speak smartly, eloquently, and critically about the art that you see.”
2. Make Connections
Most people who work on Broadway as producers or in advertising, marketing, and other fields are easy to find online or on LinkedIn. “Just send some emails, submit on websites, ask for coffee meetings,” Steward said. And when you reach out, say something about “the art that they have created and why they are a person that you want to know more from. It helps put you on a different level than someone who’s just like, ‘Tell me about theater.’”
3. Put Fordham’s Location to Work for You
One of Steward’s favorite things about Fordham College at Lincoln Center is how close it is to the Broadway community—both geographically and socially. “Everyone is within a 10-block radius of each other,“ she said. “The Lincoln Center campus puts you so close to it. Why wouldn’t you venture out and take full advantage of having access to these people at your fingertips?”
4. Rely on Your Professors and Fordham Alumni—They Can Be Your Biggest Fans
Steward called Fordham “the gift that keeps on giving.” As a student, she took an on-air reporting class with Emmy Award-winning entertainment journalist Frank DiLella, a Fordham grad who later offered her an internship at On Stage, his weekly theater show for Spectrum News NY1. DiLella helped Steward find her next internship: at Nightline, with another Fordham grad. And when she completed that one, she called DiLella again. “I said, ‘Frank, I would really like to work at Broadway News. Do you know anyone there?’” He connected her, and that internship led her to her current job.
5. Get Involved—On and Off Campus
Steward’s initial plan was to be a reporter covering Broadway. She was the arts and culture editor and then editor-in-chief of The Observer, Fordham’s Lincoln Center-based, student-run newspaper. And off campus, she interned whenever and wherever she could. In her senior year, she got a surprising lead from her supervisor at Broadway News, who said he thought she’d be a really good producer. “He introduced me to a friend who was leaving her job as Jill Furman’s assistant, and I’ve been with Jill ever since.”
How does it feel to be nominated for a Tony Award less than five years after college?
Steward said she’s not only thrilled to be recognized but also proud that it’s for Suffs, which “really makes a statement and takes a strong stance on things that I care and believe so deeply in.” She said Jill Furman, the lead producer, encouraged her to participate in meetings and share her ideas as the team worked with co-producers including Hillary Clinton and Malala Yousafzai to rebuild the story after its 2022 off-Broadway run.
Steward said the story of the suffragists becomes “more relevant to today’s women with every passing day.” And beyond the “urgency and necessity of the story, there is so much joy … in these women—multifaceted agitators who were brilliant at what they did but were also young women who joked around and were girlfriends. You will leave that theater feeling galvanized to go out into your own community and create change—to fight for your own rights.”
Morgan Steward’s Internship and Campus Club Journey—from Entertainment Journalist to Broadway Producer
