Biography

Mark Kaufman serves as Executive Vice President, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures. In this role, Kaufman has creative and operational oversight on all live stage endeavors based on the Studio's vast library of iconic film and television properties.

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is currently represented on Broadway with the eight-time Tony Award-nominated hit musical "Beetlejuice," based on Tim Burton's cult movie classic. Kaufman also produced the West End, Broadway, First National Tour and Australian productions of the Olivier Award-winning musical "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"; the Tony-nominated Broadway stage adaptation of Stephen King's "Misery"; the Tony Award-winning Best Play "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time"; the Tony-winning original musical "The Bridges of Madison County"; and the record-breaking hit holiday musical "Elf," based on the beloved New Line Cinema film. Kaufman additionally served as executive producer on NBC's acclaimed animated television adaptation of "Elf," "Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas." Under Kaufman's leadership, the division co-produced the original musical "Secondhand Lions" at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre and handled global stage licenses for recent productions of "42nd Street," "August Rush," "The Bodyguard," "A Christmas Story," "Hairspray," "The Color Purple," "Diner," "Honeymoon in Vegas," "Singin' in the Rain," "Top Hat," "The Wizard of Oz," "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and "Beetlejuice."

Upcoming, a musical adaptation of "Dave" is currently in development for Broadway following a successful summer 2018 debut at the Arena Theatre in Washington, DC. Other projects in development include a stage version of the movie musical "A Star is Born," a musical adaptation of "17 Again" (which premiered at NAMT in fall 2018), and a dramatic staging of "Dog Day Afternoon."

Kaufman's career spans stage, cinema, music and television. He joined Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures from Unique Features in 2011, following a 16-year tenure at New Line Cinema, where he served as a senior executive in the music, feature development and theatrical stage departments. During his tenure, Kaufman oversaw both the Broadway productions of the Tony Award-winning musical "Hairspray" and the Tony-nominated musical "The Wedding Singer" for New Line. He also oversaw development and served as executive producer on such feature films as "Hairspray," "Secondhand Lions," "Four Christmases," "17 Again," "My Sister's Keeper," "Valentine's Day," "Take the Lead" and "Raise Your Voice." Kaufman was additionally behind the music licensing on multiple platinum and gold soundtracks, including the blockbuster "Rush Hour" and "Austin Powers" film franchises, "The Wedding Singer," "Boogie Nights" and "Don Juan Demarco," the last of which featured the Academy Award-nominated original song "Have You Ever Really Loved a Woman" by Bryan Adams.

As a writer, Kaufman created "Toothless" for ABC's The Wonderful World of Disney, and "Just a Walk in the Park" for ABC Family.
- IMDb mini biography by: Warner Bros Entertainment Official Site Bio