Unsung Heroes: Company Manager Mike McLinden on the Heart, Hustle, and Humanity Behind Broadway

Jim Glaub sat down with Mike McLinden (Our Town, Hello Dolly!, Purpose, and the upcoming Little Bear Ridge Road) to discuss the pivotal and thankless job of Company Management; Broadway’s most under appreciated role. They balance the books, manage the cast, serve as first line HR, liaise with producers, and keep the machine running, all while staying out of the spotlight. For our Unsung Heroes series, Mike talks about what it really means to hold a show together.

Q: For people who don’t know: what is a company manager?

Mike: We’re hired by the producer and general manager to oversee the day-to-day operations of the show. We run payroll, pay the bills, settling with the box office, and keep the show on budget. But we’re also the first people to see problems brewing, whether that’s a dressing room that’s too warm or an actor who needs support. At the end of the day we are a conduit for communication. Basically, if you look at a show and wonder, ‘Who does that?’ it’s probably the company manager.

Q: As far as I can assume, nobody grows up saying, ‘I want to be a company manager.’ How did you find your way into this world?

Mike: I studied stage management and lighting design in college. My first company management internship was almost by accident, at the Illinois Shakespeare Festival, a scrappy operation where the CMs also were on the run crew. Later, I spent summers at the Glimmerglass Festival, and that’s when I realized this work played more to my strengths. I wasn’t also running a show and juggling things outside my wheelhouse. Eventually, I landed at the Frankel office in New York on Standing on Ceremony Off-Broadway and then Leap of Faith. That was my front row view of legendary company managers like Kathy Lowe, and from there, every job I’ve gotten has traced back to those connections.

Q: Has there been a moment where you thought, I can’t believe this is my job?

Mike: All the time. During the Hello, Dolly! revival, I watched a rehearsal where the title number was just supposed to be marked. Suddenly Bette and the ensemble were full-out performing it, and I thought, ‘wow, small town Illinois kid in a Broadway theatre, pinch me.’ On the flip side, I’ve also dealt with stars threatening not to go on over something relatively trivial. That’s when you think, ‘Really? This is what I’m juggling today?’

Q: What’s harder: the numbers or the people?

Mike: Definitely the people. Everyone has lives outside the theatre… bad news at home, stress, illness. My job is to support them through that. If they don’t feel safe or valued, the show suffers.

Q: Has empathy ever changed the course of a situation?

Mike: Coming back after COVID, morale was low. People were on edge, worried about shutdowns. Small gestures like bagel Sundays, drinks after rehearsal, gave the company a chance to breathe. It bought goodwill and shifted the mood.

Q: Company management is so under the radar. How do you help people discover this as a career?

Mike: The NMAM apprentice program through our union is a huge step . It’s two years of seminars, training, and mentorship before becoming a full member. I also jump at any chance to talk to colleges. Students need to know you don’t have to sing or dance to build a career in theatre. And I love showing them: I didn’t move to Chicago like my peers, I tried New York, and it worked.

Q: What kind of person thrives in this role?

Mike: Someone with a knack for data, but who’s also a people person. And someone who doesn’t need the spotlight. If people outside the company know my name, something probably went wrong.

Q: If you could company manage any show in Broadway history, which would it be?

Mike: Phantom of the Opera. My grandma played the soundtrack constantly. And to be at the center of that phenomenon, a show that became a household name before the internet, that would’ve been extraordinary.

Q: This is a thankless job. What’s the best thank you you’ve ever received?

Mike: Glenda Jackson thanked me in her Tony speech. Nothing will ever top that. She was an icon, and to hear my name from that stage… I fell out of my chair.

Company managers are rarely in the spotlight, but without them, Broadway wouldn’t run. As McLinden proves, the role is equal parts accountant, counselor, negotiator, and cheerleader. Perhaps it’s time Tony speeches made ‘thank you, company manager’ as common as thanking agents and producers.