News from the League of American Theatres and Producers.
Yesterday...
Ten years ago this winter, a Broadway sensation opened at the Majestic Theatre. The Phantom of the Opera, the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical directed by Harold Prince, earned seven 1988 Tony Awards, and it's still selling out eight times a week. Happy birthday, Phantom!
...Today...
This season the National Basketball Association, the League of American Theatres and Producers, and a dozen Broadway shows teamed up to celebrate basketball's 48th annual All-Star Game. During the game's halftime show, which was broadcast throughout the U.S. and worldwide last month, Broadway performers took center court and entertained basketball fans with the kind of musical and dramatic magic only live theatre can provide. And all winter long, NBA fans have been treated to a series of "I Love This Game" TV commercials featuring Broadway performers.
Broadway and basketballwhy not? "It's exciting to see two of the most popular forms of mass entertainment come together," says Jed Bernstein, the League's Executive Director. "Now that Broadway and the NBA are on the same team, we're sure that this will be a 'slam-dunk' for everyone involved."
...and Tomorrow
Members of the next generation of theatregoers celebrated Broadway this winter during "Kids' Night on Broadway," an audience development program produced by the League in partnership with Theatre Development Fund. Kids' Night brought young people to the theatre as Broadway welcomed audiences of tomorrow in New York and 21 other cities. More than 2000 young people and their parents joined in the fun at a Kids' Night Fan Fair at Roseland Ballroom on January 27th.
