Alumni Profile

Terry Schnuck Class of 1980

Musical theater has always been Terry Schnuck's lifelong passion. After a 22-year legal career, he made that dream a reality in 2002 when he resigned as general counsel of Schnuck Markets, Inc. and left the family grocery business to head for the bright lights of Broadway.

"In my mid-forties I thought if I died without exercising the creative side of my brain, I was not going to die a happy person," he explains.

Over the past six years, Schnuck has been taking show business by storm. He's one of the Tony Award-winning producers of Spring Awakening, which is coming to St. Louis Feb. 10-22 at the Fox Theatre.

His credits also include Enchanted April; 'night, Mother; The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and Ministry of Progress, among others. He's the executive producer of "The Manhattan Monologue Slam," recently chaired the Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis and serves on the Board of Directors for the Muny and the Professional Theatre Awards Council, which annually bestows the Kevin Kline Awards.

Recently, he inked a deal with Merv Griffin Entertainment to pitch a television show about the New York Reality TV School, which trains people how to successfully audition for reality television and navigates them throughout the process.

In the following interview, Schnuck takes a look back at some of the highlights of his legal career and shares the story behind his transition from barrister to Broadway producer:

What was most challenging about transitioning from the law to Broadway?
There really is no way to learn about how to be a producer other than by doing it. I had to rely a lot on others in the business to help mentor me. I continue to choose what shows I get involved in by what I might learn from the experience. In one sense, it is similar to the move from law school to the legal profession: Law school generally teaches you how to think and how to research, but you can't be a good lawyer unless you get out there and do it.

What makes Spring Awakening so special?
The way that the music and the choreography all contribute to expressing the emotions and difficulties teenagers face is fabulous. The subject matter is timeless in ways that all young people can connect to it. This is the show I am most proud of.

You won the Tony Award for Best Musical for Spring Awakening. What would be a parallel defining moment in your legal career?
Being part of the legal team that gained the Federal Trade Commission approval for the 1995 acquisition by Schnuck Markets of National Supermarkets. A close second would be winning the arbitration brought against Schnucks by the company that purchased the stores we were required to sell in order to get FTC approval. The party who sued us is currently in prison.

What do you miss most about working as an attorney?
As general counsel for Schnuck Markets, Inc., I had contact with many internal clients and was exposed to numerous aspects of the supermarket business. I always thought it was the best job in the company because I got to have contact with about every part of the business.

If theater has always been your true passion, what motivated you to pursue a legal career?
I seriously thought about becoming an actor after college and moving to New York. Aren't a lot of lawyers just frustrated actors? I wanted to raise a family, and at that time, I did not think that you could excel as an actor and excel in family life, so I put the whole theater thing aside and decided to go to law school and business school.

How has your legal background benefited your new career?
It's helped to the extent that I sometimes take on the responsibility for the legal review of some of the contracts. However, I know enough to know what I don't know, so I use counsel who are well versed in entertainment law. But that's part of the fun — I'm always learning. And I'm always reminded of the adage: "A lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client."

The fields of law and musical theater seem like disparate worlds — but do they have more in common than people might think?
They are totally different. However, there is some similarity between the theatre business and the grocery business: They both have lousy margins!