Skip to Content

“Sunset Blvd.” Producer Hunter Regian Ushers Texas Talent to Broadway

Texas native and UT Austin alum is bringing The Lone Star State’s deep pockets and dizzying talent pool to the Great White Way

Hunter Regian at "Gypsy" opening on Broadway. (Photo by Marcus Middleton)
Hunter Regian at "Gypsy" opening on Broadway. (Photo by Marcus Middleton)

The thrill of someone’s first Broadway show can stay with them for a lifetime. For Hunter Regian, it was “The Phantom of the Opera” on tour in Dallas, where his family had traveled to see the show from his hometown of Tyler, Texas.

“At that time, I thought I’d play Raoul or the Phantom or something,” Regian says. “I never thought that I would be producing alongside Andrew Lloyd Webber.”

Now, at just 29, Regian has co-produced Webber’s “Sunset Blvd.” and the just-opened “Gypsy,” as well as the upcoming original musical “The Queen of Versailles” starring Kristin Chenoweth of “Wicked” fame. He also founded his own production company, Regian Entertainment, whose mission is to funnel Texas’ powerful stories, sparkling talent pool and deep pockets onto stages and screens around the world.

Zhailon Levingston, Christopher Ketner and Hunter Regian at "Sunset Blvd." opening night.
1
3
Zhailon Levingston, Christopher Ketner and Hunter Regian at “Sunset Blvd.” opening night. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)
Hunter Regian with Kristin Chenoweth at "Queen of Versailles" opening night. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)
2
3
Hunter Regian with Kristin Chenoweth at “Queen of Versailles” opening night. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)
Hunter Regian with Nicole Scherzinger, star of "Sunset Blvd." playing the St. James Theatre in New York City. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)
3
3
Hunter Regian with Nicole Scherzinger, star of “Sunset Blvd.” playing the St. James Theatre in New York City. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)

Hunter Regian’s journey to the stage

Regian was the youngest of five kids born into a sports-forward family. “They named me Hunter for a reason,” he says. “They wanted me to come out with camouflage, and I came out with sparkles and glitter and jazz hands.” 

SHOP

Swipe
Coco Zentner
Serenade
Fairmont Spa Austin
The Beauty Way
Eliza Page
Milk + Honey
Creekhaven Inn & Spa
Season 2 Consign Austin
  • TRIBEZA's 2025 Valentine's Day Gift Guide
  • TRIBEZA's 2025 Valentine's Day Gift Guide
  • TRIBEZA's 2025 Valentine's Day Gift Guide
  • TRIBEZA's 2025 Valentine's Day Gift Guide
  • TRIBEZA's 2025 Valentine's Day Gift Guide
  • TRIBEZA's 2025 Valentine's Day Gift Guide
  • TRIBEZA's 2025 Valentine's Day Gift Guide
  • TRIBEZA's 2025 Valentine's Day Gift Guide

His first taste of the stage came from his dad’s food brokerage business; Regian and his siblings would help out with the big production at the annual food show for the Brookshire Brothers grocery chain in East Texas. 

“I remember seeing the production quality,” Regian says. “(My dad) would make it so theatrical with backdrops and stage managers. I had a glimpse of what it was to create these larger-than-life experiences.”

From a young age, Regian embraced entertainment through theater (he first had a role in “Pollyanna” at the Tyler Civic Theater in sixth grade), gymnastics, and, in college, cheerleading for 100,000 people at UT Austin football games. While he was earning a degree in theater and dance at UT, he performed and worked as an assistant to the artistic director at ZACH Theatre, where he had an encounter with a future mentor that would alter the trajectory of his life. 

Broadway producer Hunter Regian stands between the marquees for "Gypsy" and "Sunset Blvd." in New York City. (Photo by Marcus Middleton)
Broadway producer Hunter Regian stands between the marquees for “Gypsy” and “Sunset Blvd.” in New York City. (Photo by Marcus Middleton)

From coffee runs to curtain calls

During a UT workshop of “Legally Blonde,” Regian had the opportunity to play tour guide to some visiting Broadway bigwigs.

“I got this 15-minute opportunity to go into this room with two theater makers,” Regian says: Jerry Mitchell, director and choreographer of “Legally Blonde” on Broadway, and Dori Berinstein, producer of Broadway’s “Thoroughly Modern Millie” and the film “Dirty Dancing.” He brought them their coffee orders and “really showed my true self.”

Two years and an LSAT later, on the day Regian received his acceptance letter to law school at Baylor University, he also received an unexpected call. Berinstein was looking for an intern to work with her on a new musical called “The Prom” — how soon could Regian get to New York City?

He arrived to his first day at work days later and handed Berinstein her personalized coffee order, which he still had saved in his phone.

“Within a few weeks, I was offered a full-time position to come on as an associate to the producers,” Regian says. “My thing is about inclusivity and opening access to others, and you don’t have to be the most talented person to remember something special about someone and make them feel special.” 

Hunter Regian at "Gypsy" opening night. (Photo by Marcus Middleton)
Hunter Regian at “Gypsy” opening night. (Photo by Marcus Middleton)

How “The Prom” shaped Regian’s big break

Regian moved to the Big Apple in June 2018, and “The Prom” was on Broadway by November, so he got a whirlwind theater education. Berinstein taught him the nuts and bolts of production roles, which can still seem opaque to those who enjoy what’s onstage but have no idea how the pie gets baked.

Every Broadway show is essentially an expensive, risky investment piece. The show needs wealthy backers to get it off the ground, ones who understand that roughly 80 percent of shows never make a profit. However, a hit can hang around (and rake it in) for decades; some of the most successful musicals of all time include “The Lion King,” “Wicked,” “Mamma Mia” and “The Phantom of the Opera,” which just closed its 35-year run on Broadway last year.

“Under the lead producers, you have co-producers who are the people who help raise money, which is sort of like what I do now for all of my current shows,” Regian says. “Usually a co-producer is introducing a minimum of $250,000 to the show. My job was to be the liaison between the lead producers and then all of these agencies and our co-producers. So I very quickly had to come to speed on the business practices, the contracts, and become the voice and the buffer between these people who are trying to manage this multi-million dollar business and make sure it continues.”

The Prom’s story of young queer love in an unwelcoming small town also held personal significance for Regian.

“I’m gay, and I come from a very conservative family, and I had never seen something that so clearly reflected my own personal experience on stage,” Regian says. “I think being a part of that team gave visibility to my own experiences and experiences of those around me, so to be producing that was incredible. And I still to this day get messages and emails and things from people who say ‘The Prom’ changed their life.”

“The Prom” was a hit, and Regian went on to manage its campaign for the Tonys (it received seven nominations) and started working with the team bringing “Moulin Rouge” to the stage in 2019. 

Opening night of the Broadway production "Queen of Versailles," starring Kristen Chenoweth. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)
Opening night of the Broadway production “Queen of Versailles,” starring Kristen Chenoweth. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)

Regian’s resilient return to the stage

Then, suddenly, COVID-19 stopped time. The Great White Way went dark on March 12, 2020, and stayed that way for 18 months. 

Regian moved back to Texas, devastated — but not for long. He reached out to his contacts at ZACH Theatre and started working as a fundraiser and, eventually, an events manager. Once travel was back on, he joined the team helping to bring ZACH donors to NYC, delighting in introducing more people to the magic of theater.

In 2023, a former boss invited Regian to attend the Tonys, and he jumped at the opportunity.

“The second I walked back into that arena, the flame lit and the passion reignited,” he says. “I was like, these are my people. This is what I need to be doing.”

Regian started sending out his signature brand of sparkling flares to his network. He had worked with producer Bill Damaschke while he was working on a new Broadway project about the documentary “The Queen of Versailles,” which follows Jackie Siegel and her billionaire husband in the midst of the 2008 economic fallout. 

“So when it was announced that it was moving forward with Kristin Chenoweth, I had immense FOMO,” Regian says. “It was kind of like, okay, let me throw my hat back in the ring.” 

Soon, Regian joined the team as a co-producer. He hit his goal within three months, raising money solely from Texas-based investors, including not only his Austin connections but even those who knew him as Jimmy Bean in “Pollyanna” at the Tyler Civic Center.

(Left to right) Hunter Regian, Jordan Busch, Lila Katz and Natasha Davison at the opening of "Sunset Blvd." on Broadway. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)
(Left to right) Hunter Regian, Jordan Busch, Lila Katz and Natasha Davison at the opening of “Sunset Blvd.” on Broadway. (Photo courtesy of Hunter Regian)

The ‘y’all of it all’

“I think the big lesson I learned when I moved to New York is what I call the ‘y’all of it all,’” Regian says. “When I’d say ‘y’all’ in New York, everyone turns their head and goes, you’re not from here. But I came back to Texas and to ZACH, where it’s so spunky. Everyone is landed in their authenticity and we shout that from the rooftops. So now, I am the producer from Texas. Everyone knows that when my group walks in that room, we’re going to be loud, we’re going to be fun, but we’re going to be inclusive and welcome you with open arms.”

Regian’s recent projects include co-producing “Sunset Blvd.” starring Nicole Scherzinger (a full-circle moment for him, since the first CD he ever purchased was The Pussycat Dolls) and “Gypsy” starring Audra McDonald; “The Tempest” starring Sigourney Weaver and upcoming “Much Ado About Nothing” starring Tom Hiddleston on the West End; and, of course, launching Regian Entertainment, a “born-and-bred Texas company that ignites Texas investors and artists to come together and create work” globally spanning theater, TV, film and beyond.

“All the ones that I’m developing currently are based on Texas ideas, themes and stories that live here and can only be told from a Texan point of view,” Regian says. “I’m going to create this pipeline of talent from New York and London to Texas in our productions and the things we do here — and vice versa.”

RELATED: Austin Opera Takes Bold Step Forward with New Performance Center