Zev Buffman – President/CEO
In 2003, the RiverPark Center Board of Directors and the RiverPark Center Board of Trustees hired a visionary President and CEO with a legendary history. There is an impressive story of how veteran Broadway producer and Tony-nominated Zev Buffman found his way to RiverPark Center and about how the experience he has brought to this already successful Regional Performing Arts Center has impacted the community.
Legendary History of Experience
Buffman’s experiences incorporate a vast variety of entertainment ranging from Hollywood acting experiences, to producing more than 40 Broadway shows and 100 National Tours, to renovating famed historic theatres, to being a founding member of the Miami Heat basketball team. The award winning Broadway producer presented Andrew Lloyd Weber’s “Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” for its first run on Broadway. He also introduced Elizabeth Taylor in her Broadway Debut “The Little Foxes”, Elizabeth and Richard Burton in “Private Lives”, Dustin Hoffman in “Jimmy Shine”, and Muhammad Ali in the musical “Buck White” Known for his love of Broadway classics, he revived “Peter Pan”, “OKLAHOMA!”, “West Side Story”, and “Brigadoon” for long runs on Broadway as well as Arthur Miller’s “A View from the Bridge” and John Lithgow/George Segal in “Requiem For A Heavyweight”. Buffman has served as President and CEO for many first class performing arts centers, including the Jackie Gleason Center in Miami Beach, the Parker Playhouse in Fort Lauderdale, and the historic Saenger Theatre in New Orleans.
“The Miracle Out West”
Buffman will proudly tell you how he found RiverPark Center before RiverPark found him. Shortly after the RiverPark Center opened in 1992, Buffman was on tour in Louisville with one of his national productions. During a conversation with the theater director, the Director asked if Buffman had heard about “the miracle out west”. Buffman thought the director meant California or Washington. The director said no, the miracle was an amazing new performing arts center in Western Kentucky – the RiverPark Center. After the Louisville performance, Buffman drove west from Louisville to Owensboro and found RPC sitting on the beautiful banks of the Ohio River. He wandered through the sparkling new building and he took in a perfect Spring sunset from the building’s patio with the calm Ohio River flowing beneath his feet. And another miracle happened – Buffman thought this is a place he would return someday. Ten years later, he did. While reading a trade publication from his home in California, he spotted a Classified Ad looking for an Executive Director for the RiverPark Center in Owensboro, Kentucky. With no hesitation, he sent a resume and a cover letter. The rest is history.
More than Just Theater
Buffman wasted no time settling into the Owensboro-Daviess County community. He has brought many ideas for economic development, new festivals, and visionary changes for future growth in the community. Buffman has worked with organizations such as Bring Back Baseball, PRIDE, and local government on plans to develop a downtown arena. He also initiated a “Broadway West” campaign that has caught the attention of entertainment producers from both coasts. Broadway tours that otherwise might be built in New York now come to Owensboro where they have a state-of-the-art facility, nearby hotels and restaurants, and lots of Southern hospitality - all for a lesser cost than they would pay in the Big Apple. Buffman collaborates with local organizations to add exciting festivals that the entire community can enjoy. Festivals such as Winter Wonderland, Oktoberfest, Free Movies on the River, and “Discovering New Mysteries” – an International Mystery Writers’ Festival that will produce original plays, screenplays and teleplays and it will feature cash prizes for the “Angie” Awards named for hostess Angela Lansbury who will emcee the Closing Gala Award Ceremony.
Future Opportunities
With so many successful additions to RiverPark Center, Buffman is ready to tackle even more and lay a foundation for future generations. Plans include expanding RiverPark Center’s top-notch educational programs into a year-round Young Adult Theatre Academy (YATA). YATA began in 2005 as a 2-week summer Academy for college age and upper-level high school students to work with Broadway professionals in assembling a National Tour production. As RPC grows, Buffman hopes to add a 3-story educational building to the center that would house the year-round Arts Academy. More festivals! Owensboro’s riverfront property is ready for a major transformation. Forty-million-dollars in federal money is committed to major renovations of the downtown riverfront, and RiverPark Center is poised to keep the area full of activities. Buffman sees RiverPark Center playing a vital role in scheduling festivals, concerts, and community programs along the Ohio Riverfront to ensure that the money invested in the property is well spent and that the people of our community have reason to celebrate together. …And there is surely more to come. Buffman IS a visionary person, but he is also a man of action. You can be sure that what he dreams, he does. This is what makes a man more than just a good leader. This is what makes him legendary.