This Is Broadway Campaign & Website Showing Every Open Show

[IAMREADING]

Posted: 8/27/21 at 2:50pm

Broadway producers are joining forces with one another, with unions, and even with Oprah Winfrey to urge potentially jittery theatergoers back into seats, with a new marketing campaign called “This Is Broadway” set to launch on Monday.

A centerpiece of the campaign, which is sponsored by the Broadway League, will be a two-and-a-half-minute video featuring past and current Broadway shows – around 100 in all – melding current and archival clips encompassing 735 stars (including Hugh Jackman, Bruce Springsteen, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Sara Bareilles, Billy Porter, Angela Lansbury, Ethel Merman, James Earl Jones and Denzel Washington).

The video, narrated by Winfrey, is a dazzling montage of Broadway past and present – emphasis on present – and includes audio samples of musical numbers from current shows The Lion King, Hamilton, The Phantom of the Opera, David Byrne’s American Utopia andWicked, along with beloved classics including, among others, Angela Lansbury singing “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” Patti LuPone belting “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina”, Elaine Stritch “Ladies Who Lunch”....

According to the League, the effort marks the first time that the archival footage was made available to the industry, an accomplishment made possible through an agreement between producers and key labor unions, all designed to repopulate Broadway’s theaters after what will be by September the 18-month Covid shutdown.

The video campaign will begin its roll-out on Monday, appearing on screens throughout New York City’s subway and bus stations, in taxis, and a Times Square electronic cube. Though targeted toward East Coasters with an existing taste for theater (“This is Broadway and we can’t wait to welcome you home,” Winfrey says at the end), the video’s reach will expand beyond the five boroughs with placement on major social media platforms and media sites.

Also part of the League’s campaign (which The New York Times has reported cost $1.5 million) is website:

New Website https://thisisbroadway.org

•  
  • • descriptions of current Broadway shows
  • • links to ticket sales
  • • information about Covid safety protocols (all 41 Broadway venues require proof of vaccination and the wearing of masks).
• • A recommendation engine built on five years of data and ticket sale information, and will have the capability to make accurate show recommendations.
• • The website also will house the campaign film and real time updates regarding Broadway’s return.

August 30 lighting of the Empire State Building

Launch of a League-sponsored contest in which one winner will receive four tickets to every Broadway show in the 2021-2022 season. The prize covers 37 shows, with a total value of $18,000. Details to follow.

Source: https://deadline.com/2021/08/this-is-broadway-marketing-campaign-oprah-winfrey-video-1234823240/

The website is cool!

Updated On: 8/27/21 at 02:50 PM

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 8/27/21 at 3:06pm

This is well-organized and thought out. I'm sure I'll shed a tear seeing these ads for the first time.

[IAMREADING]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 11:56am

The video: https://youtu.be/vFIvsNJShYQ
 

Updated On: 8/30/21 at 11:56 AM

[Wick3]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 12:06pm

Great idea! Hopefully Google will actually place that website first on the list when someone searches for Broadway show (usually broadway.com site shows up first... which we all know is pretty much a ticket reseller)

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 12:10pm

It's a great video, maybe some discounts would help too

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 12:35pm

Sutton Ross said: "It's a great video, maybe some discounts would help too 

There will be tons once we get beyond the first few weeks.

Wish the video had used fewer songs, but the sentiment here is wonderful.

[Fosse76]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 5:29pm

Sutton Ross said: "It's a great video, maybe some discounts would help too "

I've received two flyers in the mail with discount codes: one for Come From Away, and one from Wicked. I'm a bit surprised I haven't received more, considering the the low advance for most shows (based on my unscientific review of seating charts on TM and Telecharge).

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 5:49pm

That's a good start, I guess I'm dreaming if I think any discounts will be happening for new or newish shows like Company and The Music Man which is why I caved long ago and just bought tickets for both. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 6:16pm

Company will most definitely be discounting heavily after the first two months or so. It's Patti LuPone and Sondheim –– two things that have a devoted but limited audience which will dry up after the initial burst.

People continue to seriously overestimate the demand for most of these shows.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 7:48pm

Sutton Ross said: "It's a great video, maybe some discounts would help too "

I agree. I mean a star studded campaign is lovely, but many people are struggling. If you wanna encourage traffic help folks out by giving some discounts. Some shows may not need it, but others might like the help getting butts in the seats. 

 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 8/30/21 at 9:25pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "Company will most definitely be discounting heavily after the first two months or so. It's Patti LuPone and Sondheim –– two things that have a devotedbut limited audience which will dry up after the initial burst.

People continue to seriously overestimate the demand for most of these shows."

Unlike a majority of the announced shows for which there is indeed a serious overestimate (IMO, I continue to pray I'm wrong), I think Company has a plausible path to viability. Which is not to say it can get there without any discounting but I do think the discounts will be more around the edges (meaning a lot of people won't like where they are). I am truly mystified by the delusional nature of some of the strategies we are seeing. What are these people drinking? (or smoking)

[jo]

Posted: 8/31/21 at 12:03pm

I could hardly spot Hugh Jackman in the video for past Broadway performances - was he the one behind the microphone at somehere around 2'03-'05?

But People.com just featured a human interest story on a clip Hugh shared with his fans (a grandson taking a dementia-patient grandpa to see a singalong screening of Greatest Showman)...and in the process, featured a few informative paragraphs on the upcoming The Music Man, including a clip showing him honing his dance skills for the show due for December previews.

Great publicity bonus for Broadway and The Music Man!

https://people.com/movies/hugh-jackman-touched-grandpa-with-dementia-sing-along-the-greatest-showman/?utm_campaign=peoplemagazine&utm_content=new&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_term=612e3f423f44320001ed936f

 

Updated On: 8/31/21 at 12:03 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 8/31/21 at 12:56pm

That was great but let's be honest, The Music Man does not need more publicity. The rest of Broadway sure does though. 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 9/1/21 at 6:13pm

Sutton Ross said: "That was great but let's be honest, The Music Man does not need more publicity. The rest of Broadway sure does though."

That’s my worry Sutton. The only shows that are gonna float are the ones with megastars. I think anything else is gonna have a rocky road outside of the first few weeks. 

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/1/21 at 6:59pm

While I agree that a frightening number of shows are not gonna float beyond a few weeks at most, I don't think megastars are the key. I think the key is what the local/regional audience will go to see. Hamilton has no stars, for example, but it will be fine. Shows that wore out their local luster years ago may want to invest in some freezers for their ice cream namesake...

[Robbie2]

Posted: 9/1/21 at 9:53pm

Who's filling all those theaters and seeing all these shows opening?

Pass Over is barely reaching 50% capacity on weekends far less during the week is what I'm hearing.

Too many opening so quickly at once!

Tourists are not back!!!

Updated On: 9/1/21 at 09:53 PM

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 9/1/21 at 9:58pm

I don’t think Pass Over would be reaching much higher even in the best of times.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/1/21 at 10:33pm

Alexander Lamar said: "I don’t think Pass Over would be reaching much higher even in the best of times."

I think that's right but as I have more or less said before, it doesn't matter for this one. This is a show that is being produced by a group of people who are not looking to make money because they think it was important for it to be produced on Broadway and to be the first play out of the gate post-shutdown not to mention post-George Floyd. It's not an expensive undertaking and doesn't need massive crowds to do respectably, but that is a side bar. This is more in the nature of Indecent, another show that had similar motivations.