A producer, dramaturg, librettist, and the senior vice president of Jujamcyn Theaters, Jack Viertel has been called “a sort of human encyclopedia of musical theater” (WNYC). He was present at the first meeting of the  Encores! Advisory Committee in 1993 and has been in charge of Encores! since 2000, overseeing more than 50 productions. “Almost no one else in the world can do what we do at City Center,” says Viertel. “With time and love and scholarship, we can put a lost show back into the world. It’s almost like magic.” Viertel was the architect of City Center’s historic 2007 revival of Gypsy, which starred Patti LuPone and transferred to Broadway. He conceived the Encores! revues Stairway to Paradise; and Cotton Club Parade, which moved to Broadway under the title After Midnight; and Hey, Look Me Over!.