Unwrap your hard candies and get ready to celebrate. Check out This Is Broadway above, featuring clips from shows past, present, and future like Hamilton, Wicked, A Chorus Line, and Mrs. Doubtfire.
The two-and-a-half minute anthem film features a voiceover by Oprah Winfrey that spotlights 99 shows, 735 actors, and even one dog (a certain red-headed orphan's best friend). Stars like Hugh Jackman, Bruce Springsteen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Billy Porter, Angela Lansbury, Ethel Merman, James Earl Jones, and Denzel Washington are just a few big names spotted.
The video is part of The Broadway League’s new industry-wide campaign to welcome theatre lovers back to Times Square following the industry’s 18-month shut down. The media plan includes local markets, with ads on public transportation around NYC, plus a wider, nation-wide reach on social media and major publications to entice domestic travelers back to the Main Stem.
It’s the first time all of Broadway’s archival footage has been made available to the industry through a joint commitment from the key labor unions. Normally, advertisting is done by an individual show to jockey for tourists to see their production, but the COVID-19 shutdown and rising concerns about the Delta variant warranted a new approach.
Several other events are planned to celebrate the return of Broadway, including a special Empire State Building lighting August 30 and the three-day outdoor festival Curtain Up! September 17-19. A contest to win four tickets to each show in the 2021-2022 season will open September 1.
For more information, visit ThisIsBroadway.org.
