# Esquire Jauchem

Esquire Jauchem is a producer, director, writer, and designer working in theater, opera, ballet, film, and video. In 1971 he founded The Boston Repertory Theater. In 1975, he adapted and directed the world premiere of the stage version of Harry Nilsson's The Point! starring David Morse as the character Oblio. He has produced over 1,000 television programs, most recently the Supervising Producer of Clean House starring Niecy Nash and the Co-Executive Producer of Home Made Simple starring Paige Davis. Both of those shows received Emmy nominations.

## Early life

Jauchem was born in Akron, Ohio, where his father was a machinist at Goodyear Tire and his mother was a beauty queen and housewife. His acting and directing career started in his grandmother's garage where he staged mini-theatrical events. His maternal grandparents were from Zics, Hungary, the paternal side from Biermansdorf, Switzerland. Jauchem attended Harvey S. Firestone High School and went to The Defiance College where he studied theology, made his first film, and became deeply involved in the theater department led by Professor William Curtis. In the summer of 1964 he was an actor with the Defiance College Players performing in Barnstable, Massachusetts. After graduating from college, he moved to Boston to attend Emerson College, but very shortly became involved in the Opera Company of Boston productions led by world-famous impresario Sarah Caldwell who offered him a full-time job.

## Theatre

At the age of twenty-four Jauchem founded the Boston Repertory Theatre which, over the next ten years, became the most successful local theater company in Boston, originating over 40 shows with James Kirkwood Jr., Tommy Tune, Viveca Lindfors and Dick Shawn among the known performers, and kickstarting the careers of newcomers including David Morse (an original founding member of the Company). The resident acting company performed several plays in true rotating repertory, often two different shows in the same day. The Boston Rep built the first new theatre in the Boston Theater District in thirty years at One Boylston Place and opened it for the national bi-centennial in 1976 with the world premiere of Kurt Vonnegut's Player Piano.

## Opera

Jauchem was also the Associate Director and production Administrator of the Opera Company of Boston with world-renowned conductor and director, Sarah Caldwell. He helped her stage many American premieres including The Trojans by Berlioz, Russlan and Ludmilla by Glinka, The Icebreak by Sir Michael Tippett, and the epic, War and Peace by Prokofiev (which featured the entire Boston Rep acting company in key, non-singing roles). Opera singers with whom he worked include Beverly Sills, Régine Crespin, Plácido Domingo, James McCracken, Donald Gramm, Victoria de los Ángeles, and Shirley Verrett. Jauchem also became known for creating elaborate special effects Sarah Caldwell's productions and also often appeared onstage in the productions.
Moving to New York, he and Gregory Meeh founded Jauchem & Meeh Special Effects which has, for several decades, been dazzling opera and theatre audiences with storms, explosions, magic, and illusions. His special effects with Gregory Meeh vividly destroyed Troy, Moscow, and the Temple of Solomon, then burned Beverly Sills at the stake.

## Hollywood

Moving to Venice Beach, California, Jauchem became involved in electronic media where he has produced and/ or directed over one thousand episodes of television for NBC, CBC, Spike, UPN, E! Entertainment, Style, Logo, and The Oprah Winfrey Network. He was the Supervising Producer for the wildly successful comedy/makeover show, Clean House starring Niecy Nash. That show was number one for the network for several years and resulted in two Emmy nominations for Jauchem, and generated a spin-off special "The Messiest House" achieving the highest ratings in the history of Style.
He continued his work in the theatre producing, directing and designing scenery, lighting and costumes including another production of The Point! and The Little Prince starring David Morse as The Aviator.

## Recent projects

In recent years he has written and directed multimedia stage tributes to Paula Vogel, Marsha Norman and David Henry Hwang for William Inge Theater Festival and was most recently the Supervising Producer of RuPaul’s Drag U on Logo TV and the Co-Executive Producer / Showrunner of Home Made Simple starring Paige Davis on the Oprah Winfrey Network that was nominated for an Emmy.
He is in currently pre-production on a short film based on award-winning playwright, David Henry Hwang’s play, Bondage. He is developing an independent feature film Down by the River slated to star David Morse and Kimberly Elise, screenplay by Gerald Berns, based on a play by William Curtis. Jauchem is also developing a cabaret style musical based on the music of Stew and Heidi Rodewald and writing an adaptation of "The Mad Woman of Chaillot" set on the Venice Beach Boardwalk.

## Occupations

* Founder and Artistic Director of the Boston Repertory Theatre
* Associate Director and production Administrator of the Opera Company of Boston with Director Sarah Caldwell
* Co-Founder of Jauchem & Meeh Special Effects (with Gregory Meeh), which is known for its work in opera, on Broadway, and in Las Vegas.
* General Manager of The Big Apple Circus, NYC
* Co-Producer "American – Soviet Festival: Making Music Together", Sarah Caldwell, Director

## Selected works
### TV/Film

| Title | Venue | Position | Notes |
| Bondage by David Henry Hwang | Los Angeles | Screenplay / Director | Currently in Pre-production |
| Down by the River Screenplay by Gerald Berns | Los Angeles | Director | based on the play, Lester Sims Retires Today by William Curtis, currently in development |
| Home Made Simple | Oprah Winfrey Network | Co-Executive Producer / Showrunner | Starring Paige Davis, Emmy Nomination |
| RuPaul's Drag U | Logo Network | Supervising Producer | Starring RuPaul |
| Clean House | E! Entertainment, Style Network | Supervising Producer | Starring Niecy Nash, 65 episodes |
| Messiest Home in the Country | E Entertainment, Style Network | Supervising Producer | nominated for an Emmy. |
| I Hate My Job | Spike Network | Director | hosted by Al Sharpton |
| Ocean Drive | USA Networks | Executive Producer/Director | Starring Hunter Reno |
| America's Most Wanted | Fox | Segment Producer | |
| Livin' Large | NBC | Story Coordinator | Syndicated Magazine Show |
| Vegas Life | USA Networks | Producer/Director | |
| Anatomy of Crime | Court TV | Sr. Producer | 26 – One-Hour Specials |
| Strange Universe | United Television – Rysher Entertainment | Coordinating Producer | Five 1/2 hour pilot segments |
| Movie Magic | Discovery Channel | Writer/Director | |
| TrialWatch | NBC Pilot and Series | Producer | 130 episodes |
| Divorce Court | CBS & Syndicated | Supervising Producer | 390 episodes |
| Divorce Court | CBS & Syndicated | Producer | 260 episodes |
| The Krypton Factor | NBC | Line Producer | 34 episodes |

### Theater

| Title | Venue | Position | Notes |
| Theatre's Golden Warrior | William Inge Theatre Festival | Writer/Director | Tribute to David Henry Hwang |
| Traveler in the Light | William Inge Theatre Festival | Writer/Director | Tribute to Marsha Norman |
| A Hot Waltz with Paula | William Inge Theatre Festival | Writer/Director | Tribute to Paula Vogel |
| Rondelet: Scenes of Seduction | Boston Repertory Theatre | Director | based on Reigen by Schnitzler |
| October 20 at Night | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | American Premiere Israeli play be Yeshua Sobol |
| My Mother, My Son | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | with Viveca Lindfors and Chris Tabori |
| The Point! by Harry Nilsson | Boston Repertory Theatre; Trinity Square Repertory Theatre, Providence;Chapel Court Theater, Hollywood | Stage Adaptation / Director | World Premiere Musical/LA Premiere; Nominated as Musical of the Year |
| The Reason We Eat by Israel Horowitz | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | Boston Premiere |
| Nightclub Cantana by Elizabeth Swados | Boston Repertory Theatre; Charles Playhouse | Producer | with original NY cast |
| P.S. Your Cat is Dead by James Kirkwood | Boston Repertory Theatre; Charles Playhouse | Producer | |
| Player Piano by Kurt Vonnegut | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | World Premiere |
| Ichabod | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | Original Musical Starring Tommy Tune |
| I Am a Woman | Boston Repertory Theatre; Charles Playhouse | Producer | Starring Viveca Lindfors |
| The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail | Boston Repertory Theatre | Director | Starring David Morse |
| The Little Prince | Boston Repertory Theatre; Charles Playhouse; Los Angeles; Berkeley; & San Francisco | Producer/Director | Starring David Morse |
| When You Comin' Back Red Ryder | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | Boston Premiere in Harvard Square |
| Home Free by Landford Wilson | Boston Repertory Theatre | Director | Boston Premiere |
| The Second Greatest Entertainer | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | Starring Dick Shawn |
| "Grandma's in the Cellar" | Boston Repertory Theatre | Writer/Director | World Premiere |
| The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | World Premiere |
| A Hatful of Rain by Michael V. Gazzo | Boston Repertory Theatre | Director | |
| Luv by Murray Schisgal | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | |
| The Romantics by Edmond Rostand | Boston Repertory Theatre, Hyannis & Boston | Director | |
| Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekhov | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | |
| The Knights of the Round Table by Jean Cocteau | Boston Repertory Theatre | Director | |
| Animal Farm by George Orwell | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | Boston Premiere |
| The Beautiful People by William Saroyan | Boston Repertory Theatre, Hyannis | Director | |
| The Knights of the Round Table | Boston Repertory Theatre, Hyannis | Director | |
| A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas | Boston Repertory Theatre | Producer | |
| Lenya: Life to Legend | LA County Museum of Art | Producer | Production and Lighting Design |
| Trials of Peter the Hebrew (Opera ) | LA County Museum of Art | Producer | Production and Lighting Design |
| Assassins by Sondheim/Weidman | The Los Angeles Repertory Company | General Manager | at LATC |
| The Hostage by Brendan Behan | The Los Angeles Repertory Company | Producer | Lighting Design |
| The Messiah by Martin Sherman | The Los Angeles Repertory Company | Producer | Scenic & Lighting Design |
| Methuselah by George Bernard Shaw | The Los Angeles Repertory Company | Scenic & Lighting Design | |

### Opera

| Title | Venue | Position | Notes |
| The Daughter of the Regiment | Opera Company of Boston | Assistant Director | Starring Beverly Sills |
| The Good Soldier Schweik | Opera Company of Boston | Assistant Director | American Premiere |
| La Bohème | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | starring Ilona Tokady |
| Mass by Leonard Bernstein | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | Boston Premiere |
| Les Troyens | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | American Premiere starring Regine Crespin |
| The Flying Dutchman | Opera Company of Boston, Wolf Trap Farm Park | Associate Director | starring Simon Estes |
| Aida | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | Starring Shirley Verrett and James McCracken |
| War and Peace | Opera Company of Boston, Wolf Trap Farm Park | Associate Director | American Premiere starring Donald Gramm |
| The Vamprye | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | Starring Brent Ellis |
| The Good Soldier Schweik | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | American Premiere |
| Die Fledermaus | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | Beverly Sills, Donald Gramm, Victor Borge |
| Hansel and Gretel | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | Starring Rosiland Elias |
| Madame Butterfly | Opera Company of Boston, Wolf Trap Farm Park | Associate Director | Designed by Ming Cho Lee |
| The Icebreak by Sir Michael Tippett, | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | American Premiere |
| The Barber of Seville | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | Starring Beverly Sills and Alan Titus |
| La Vide Breve | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | StarrinbgVictoria De Los Angeles |
| Tosca | Opera Company of Boston | Associate Director | Starring Magda Olivera |
| The Impresario | | Opera New England | Staging Director |
| La Traviata | Opera Company of Boston, Opera New England | Director & designer | |
| Falstaff | Opera Company of Boston, NYC Opera, Los Angeles Tour | Associate Director | Starring Donald Gramm |
| Don Pasquale | Opera Company of Boston, Houston Grand Opera | Associate Director | Starring Beverly Sills and Donald Gramm |
| The Marriage of Figaro | Wolf Trap Farm Park | Associated Director | Directed by Donald Gramm |

### Festivals/casino/tours

| Title | Venue | Position | Notes |
| "Burning Man Festival" | Black Rock City | Producer/designer | Center Camp Bubble Lounge 6 years |
| "Carnevale!" | Venice Beach | Producer | Street festival for 8 years |
| American-Soviet Festival | Boston, Massachusetts | Producing director | 300 Soviet and 400 American artists |
| The Big Apple Circus | NYC and on tour | Managing director | |
| Harmonia Mundi | Irvine, California | Production & lighting design | With the Dalai Lama on the night that he won the Nobel Peace Prize |
| California Dream Men | Tour of Germany | Production stage manager | Directed by Walter Painter |
| Ballet Trocadero de Monte Carlo | Tours of Russia and Japan | Lighting design | |
| Flash! A Magical, Mystical Adventure | Gold River Casino | Director, designer: scenery, costumes, lighting | Magic and dance show |