There is a debate currently going on in the Creighton household: Whose award is bigger? Is it Robert鈥檚 Astaire Award that he won for his hard-hoofing work as James Cagney in Cagney, the Musical, the show he co-created about the Oscar-winning entertainer? Or is it his wife Whitney鈥檚 Webby Award, which she (alongside the digital teams at the American Theatre Wing, the Broadway League and Tony Awards Productions) received for producing last year鈥檚 2015 Tony Awards鈥� live stream as the associate director of content and community at Serino Coyne? One thing they can鈥檛 argue about: This spring has brought their family reasons to celebrate. In addition to winning the Astaire Award for Outstanding Male Dancer, Robert was nominated for Outer Critics and Drama Desk awards, while Whitney produced another successful Tony Awards鈥� live stream this year for Serino Coyne.
When Robert met Whitney at the Paper Mill Playhouse in 2006鈥擶hitney was the marketing manager and Robert was starring in A Wonderful Life鈥�Cagney was just an itch in the Broadway vet鈥檚 tap shoes. As their family has grown to include their four-and-a-half-year-old son, RJ, and three-year-old daughter, Samantha, so have Robert鈥檚 dreams of bringing Cagney to the stage. The musical debuted at Florida Stage in 2009, and this week Cagney celebrates both its 117th Off-Broadway show at the Westside Theatre (as well as what would be James Cagney鈥檚 117th birthday). Trophy size aside, this couple is the definition of award-winning.
Joseph Marzullo/WENN
This awards season was crazy for you guys! Robert, you won the Astaire Award for Outstanding Male Dancer and you were nominated for a Drama Desk and an Outer Critics. Whitney, you won a Webby Award for your work with Serino Coyne last year on the Tony Awards鈥� live cast and you produced another show this year.
Whitney Creighton: Ironically, the night we received that Webby Award was the same night Bobby had the Astaire Awards. We were both winning awards, but we couldn鈥檛 come to each other鈥檚 [ceremonies] to celebrate each other.
Robert Creighton: It was still pretty fun, though. We both arrived home and had our awards. My award is bigger than hers. It鈥檚 an actual trophy.
WC: [The Webby] is not just a pin. We had to order our awards, and they are sent to us.
RC: The fun part was when we both arrived home and we literally could not stop laughing. It was a very fun night.
You have such separate careers, but they are both in the industry. Do they overlap at all?
WC: I can only describe many of the experiences in our life as synergistic, but it鈥檚 church and state as far as I鈥檓 concerned. Although sometimes I have difficulty releasing control on that.
RC: Because [Cagney] is my baby, it鈥檚 her baby too. She knows so much about the best way to do things, so if something isn鈥檛 going that way it鈥檚 hard for her to just stand by and let it play out. It can be quite difficult, but it鈥檚 also been very helpful. I鈥檝e communicated things that have needed to be communicated [to our team] because Whitney picked up on them, and it鈥檚 helped the show. She鈥檚 an unpaid consultant.
Whitney, do you feel like by being married to an actor and a creator of a show helps you at your job, because you really understand a show from the inside out?
WC: One hundred-and-ten percent. Understanding the process, and the sensitivities, and what it takes to birth a production from a creative standpoint helps me to be able to pull out the best material and work with artists in the best ways possible to make great digital content. Understanding the DNA of how an actor and a creator works absolutely helps us get a better product at the end of the day. It鈥檚 also interesting because our relationship helps each of us. If I鈥檓 working with an actor or a director who knows me from their relationship with Bobby, there鈥檚 a whole different level of trust. I鈥檓 not going in cold, and vice versa. If Bobby鈥檚 talking to somebody who has been one of my clients, or they鈥檝e worked on a show that I鈥檝e worked on in the past it definitely helps break the ice.
Is it hard to spend time together? Even though Whitney鈥檚 in the theatre industry she still has regular business hours, and I know she worked all hours before the Tony Awards.
RC: Yes, you caught us at a moment where we鈥檙e really craving more time together. Both of our schedules have been so demanding, and the nature of my show is such that it鈥檚 not just the hours I鈥檓 [at the theatre], but it鈥檚 the way I have to live my life to be able to do the role鈥攚hich is challenging on everybody. [This month] my schedule changes to Thursday matinees with Thursday nights [off] and we鈥檝e already set that up as date night.
What is an ideal date night for the Creightons?
RC: Well, we love the theatre, that鈥檚 why we鈥檙e in it, so we鈥檙e already getting tickets lined up for Thursday nights to go see the things we want to see. We鈥檙e very excited about it. And [the shows] usually come with a trip backstage to see friends, so that鈥檚 even better.
Whitney, do you ever feel like it鈥檚 James Cagney that comes home instead of Robert?
WC: Never. When he鈥檚 off stage he鈥檚 off stage. When he鈥檚 onstage, he鈥檚 onstage. It鈥檚 part of his skill, and it鈥檚 why he鈥檚 such a great actor. Then he turns it on for our kids, which is hysterical to watch and they love it.
Whitney, are you as big of a fan of James Cagney as Robert is?
WC: I have always been a fan of Cagney鈥檚, but of course being married to an aficionado has clearly raised my level of awareness. His life was pretty phenomenal, but more interestingly and more personally, I鈥檝e learned that the way Cagney led his life very much mirrors the way Bobby leads his. Cagney was always wanting to have everybody be on the same level and take care of everyone in his life. When I watch the show I see a lot of the way that Cagney was, in the way Bobby naturally leads his life, which is a lot of fun for me to see.
Have your kids started tap dancing yet? I鈥檓 sure it鈥檚 only a matter of time!
WC: They both have tap shoes. RJ absolutely loves tapping. Every time he sees the commercial for Cagney he goes crazy and does all of Daddy鈥檚 moves. He jumps in the air and does the spin. It鈥檚 adorable.
