From Broadway to the North Country: Robert H. Fowler Brings ‘The Producers’ Full Circle at the Weathervane

WHITEFIELD, NH—“Robert is a living piece of Broadway history,”—that’s how Weathervane Producing Artistic Director Ethan Paulini describes the theatre’s associate artistic director Robert H. Fowler, now in his fourteenth season with the company.

When the Weathervane presents Mel Brooks’ The Producers this week, it will not only end its landmark 60th season, but it will be a full-circle moment for Fowler, who was a member of the original Broadway company for its entire six-year run. “This show is a major part of Broadway history,“ said Paulini, ”so closing out a season that was all about OUR history seems the perfect way to bring the curtain down.” 

Before becoming the associate artistic director in 2018, Fowler joined the Weathervane as a member of the acting company in 2010. However, before that, Fowler enjoyed a 25-year career on Broadway, which included limited engagements such as Tommy Tune Tonite! to beloved, long-running favorites like Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Other Broadway companies Fowler belonged to included Dreamgirls, Uptown It’s Hot!, Steel Pier, Oh, Kay!, and Mel Brooks’ The Producers. Weathervane’s production of The Producers will be the first time Fowler has revisited the work since the show closed on Broadway in 2007.

For someone with such a successful theatrical career, it may be surprising to learn that Fowler, a Bronx native, did not go to school for the arts but for electrical engineering. Graduating early from NYC’s esteemed Stuyvesant High School at 16 years old, Fowler went on to the Illinois Institute of Technology, which led to a job at CBS in NYC. Throughout this entire time, he continued to nurture his passion for dance, taking classes in his spare time.

“Find your passion,” said Fowler. “Once you find your passion, you won’t let any obstacles get in your way.”

Fowler knew he was passionate about gymnastics and dance. Through his dance classes at JoJo’s Dance Factory (today known as Broadway Dance Center), he’d find a mentor in legendary street jazz teacher Frank Hatchett and his first professional opportunity to perform in Las Vegas. Being the son of a policeman and a secretary for the board of education, his parents were always leery of a life in the arts.

The Las Vegas gig was cancelled before the show ever opened, but it gave Fowler the courage needed to leave his job at CBS and pursue the arts full-time. Within six months, he landed a year-long contract in the Bahamas, and his parents could sleep a little easier over their eldest child’s sudden career move.

Fowler’s JoJo’s Dance Factory connection would lead to his Broadway debut in Maurice Hines’ Uptown, It’s Hot in 1986. When Fowler reflects on his career, he muses,” I never had an ‘it’ factor, but there was always something about me that people wanted to invest in.”

Jeremy Lloyd, a member of Weathervane’s Resident Acting Company, expounds: “He’s always very encouraging. He’s a beautiful human being. He’s peace in a human form.”  

After 25 years on Broadway in the ensemble, Fowler was presented with an opportunity to step centerstage as the lead role of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in Ragtime in Weathervane Theatre’s 2010 production of Ragtime.

“This place has been great for me as far as stepping away from boundaries and limitations. You have to learn to trust yourself,” said Fowler.

From the Bronx to Broadway to the North Country, Fowler has found an artistic home here at the Weathervane, and he highlights the organization’s commitment to the artists as one key reason he returns year after year. He also loves fostering the next generation. 

“I want to share my experience with the interns–to let them know that while Broadway may be a goal, don’t expect that it’s going to be the best of the best because you may have already been working with the best of the best right here,” said Fowler. 

One piece of advice Fowler always imparts to company members is to “create something new.” You can experience Fowler do just that as he takes on the legendary role of Roger de Bris in Weathervane Theatre’s The Producers, running October 8-12, 2025, in Whitefield, NH. Tickets are on sale at weathervanenh.org or at 603-837-9322. 

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ABOUT THE WEATHERVANE

The Weathervane Theatre was founded in 1965 by Gibbs Murray and the late Tom Haas and is under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Ethan Paulini. It has presented high-quality professional productions of plays and musicals for over half a century. One of the few remaining alternating rep companies in the United States, the Weathervane is recognized as a historical institution nationwide, boasting among its alums 2021 Tony nominee Elizabeth Stanley, Tally Sessions, four-time Tony nominee Judy Kuhn, and recent Tony Award Winners Sam Pinkleton and Ari’el Stachel.  

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