The Tony Award- and Olivier Award-winning production company Seaview has announced a key addition to its leadership team. Valerie Novakoff Britten has been named head of capital partnerships for the company that shepherded productions, such “Good Night, and Good Luck,” “Stereophonic” and “Parade,” to the Main Stem.
In this newly formed role, Britten will lead capital strategy and partnership engagement for Seaview’s slate of projects, which encompasses Broadway, Off-Broadway and West End productions. By adding this new position, Seaview aims to reassess the way investor relations and recruitment function on Broadway.
No stranger to capital management, Britten previously worked as a banker at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, advising ultra-high-net-worth clients on capital market strategies, credit structures and estate planning. Within the Broadway industry, Britten has served as associate producer of the 2018 Tony-winning revival “Once on This Island,” as well as the 2019 mounting of “Gettin’ the Band Back Together.” Britten has also worked as a finance assistant on “Wicked” and has held positions with 321 Theatrical Management, Davenport Theatrical and the Drama League.
Additionally, Britten has been a champion for gender parity within the industry, having founded Broadway’s Women’s Fund, the first impact investment fund on Broadway which also publishes the annual “Women to Watch on Broadway” list. She also served as executive director of Open Stage Project, a nonprofit that empowers high school girls to pursue nonperformance careers in theater.
“We are so lucky to have Valerie Britten’s unicorn-esque experience within the team at Seaview that seamlessly fuses the worlds of both private banking and live entertainment,” Seaview CEO Greg Nobile said in a statement. “We know with Val’s leadership, we will transform the way that we work with our investment and producing partners on Broadway and across all of our entertainment properties. I had the pleasure of coming up with Val in this business and cannot wait for our next chapter together at Seaview.”
“I am thrilled to be joining Greg Nobile and the extraordinary team at Seaview,” added Britten. “Seaview has already established itself as one of the most exciting and prolific producing offices in entertainment. With the launch of Studio Seaview, a new comedy series at Lincoln Center and a growing slate of Broadway, Off-Broadway and screen projects, this is a unique moment of creative and commercial momentum. I look forward to working closely with both new and existing capital partners in support of Seaview’s bold, ambitious, artist-driven work.”
In addition to producing the upcoming Broadway bow of the Kristin Chenoweth-led “Queen of Versailles,” Seaview recently acquired its own Off-Broadway venue, the aforementioned Studio Seaview.
