Ahrens is best known as a producer of the
Broadway musical
Xanadu, which was nominated for Best Musical at the 2008
Tony Awards. Ahrens began acquiring the stage rights to the
Xanadu musical in 2002 after seeing an unauthorized 2001 stage production of the film. Working as an assistant to an executive at Paramount Pictures at the time, he pursued the rights to
Xanadu and its soundtrack by the
Electric Light Orchestra and swiftly began courting writer
Douglas Carter Beane to write the book. This season, Robert is lead producing
Just in Time, the smash hit Broadway musical of the year, directed by Tony Award winner
Alex Timbers and starring
Jonathan Groff as the legendary Bobby Darin. He also lead produced
Call Me Izzy, a gripping new play by
Jamie Wax, directed by
Sarna Lapine and featuring six-time Emmy Award winner
Jean Smart in a highly acclaimed theatrical performance. This fall, he is lead producing the first-ever Broadway revival of
Chess, directed by Tony Award winner
Michael Mayer and starring
Aaron Tveit, Emmy nominee
Lea Michele, and
Nicholas Christopher. Also currently running is the hit revival of
Little Shop of Horrors at the Westside Theatre in New York City, directed by
Michael Mayer and choreographed by
Ellenore Scott. The production has earned widespread acclaim and numerous honors, including Best Musical Revival Awards from the Drama Desk, the Drama League, and the Outer Critics Circle, with
Christian Borle earning multiple Outstanding Featured Actor awards for his performance as “Orin.” He produced three films,
Bumping Heads,
Book of Love, and
WTC View. He also co-produced
Evita on Broadway and executive produced
Finding Neverland. He has presented
Kathy Griffin Wants a Tony,
Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, and
The Temptations and
The Four Tops on Broadway. He also produced the play
Grey House directed by
Joe Mantello on Broadway. ==References==