Joel Grey Hosts Tour of New York Theatre District

Tony and Oscar winner Joel Grey, currently back on Broadway in the revival of The Cherry Orchard, is one of many hosts for the new mobile app Detour, according to the New York Post.

The app, the Detour website explains, offers “beautifully produced GPS audio walks that take you beneath the surface of cities around the world. Whether you’re solo or syncing audio with friends, Detour is an entirely new way to experience places.”

Singing actor Grey, whose recent Broadway credits also include Anything Goes, Chicago, and Wicked, narrates a 70-minute tour of the New York theatre district entitled Times Square: Joel Grey's Broadway.

The narrated tour, according to Detour, kicks off “at the Edison Hotel, where [Grey] first arrived in New York City at the age of 12. He shows us the theaters where he made his mark, and takes us into the favorite haunts of Broadway stars. Along the way, we visit such theater district institutions as the legendary restaurant Sardi’s, Hurley’s Saloon, the Theatre Circle Bookshop and of course, the one and only crossroads of the world, Times Square.”

One of the many theatres explored is the Broadhurst, the original home of Cabaret, where Grey created the role of the Emcee, the part that brought him his Tony and subsequently an Oscar. “[That] was, and still is, my favorite New York theater,” Grey told the New York daily. “No matter what’s playing there, no matter what the set is, no matter who the stars are, I can sort of picture myself in that opening number, [‘Willkommen’], in that proscenium arch. It’s cool!”

Click here for more information about Detour.

Check out photos from the opening of The Cherry Orchard below: