The redeveloped Duffy Square, the pedestrian island located in the northern part of Times Square, officially opens at 12:30 PM. On hand for the celebration will be Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Council Speaker Christine Quinn, as well as representatives from the Times Square Alliance, the Theatre Development Fund, the Coalition for Father Duffy, Bishop Dennis Sullivan and Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters. The multimillion dollar redevelopment of the island features a 115 percent expansion of pedestrian space in the plaza that honors World War I hero Father Francis P. Duffy and Broadway's George M. Cohan with statues.

The redesigned TKTS booth, which will now accept credit card payment at all of its ticketing windows, officially opens at 3 PM for day-of tickets to Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. While the TKTS booth offers an award-winning design of an illuminated red glass staircase for pedestrian use, the booth itself has expanded its box office from ten to twelve windows.

To celebrate the opening of the TKTS booth, Broadway's Julie Halston will emcee a 6:30 PM event that will feature a performance by Brian Stokes Mitchell, John Leguizamo, Sutton Foster and members of the Broadway community. The inaugural lighting ceremony will be marked by a performance of "Give My Regards to Broadway."

Since 1973 theatre lovers and tourists have been flocking to the booth, which offers discounted tickets for Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, music and dance events. Over 50 million tickets have been sold at TKTS locations in Duffy Square, South Street Seaport and the latest addition in downtown Brooklyn, accounting for upwards of $1.4 billion in revenue for productions.