Press Release

Fifth Annual "Broadway On Broadway" Free Outdoor Public Concert Returns To Times Square On Sunday, September 8, 1996NEW YORK -- August 26 -- Broadway on Broadway, one of New York City's most-anticipated public events, will return again this year to Times Square--The Crossroads of the World--on Sunday, September 8, 1996 at 12:30 PM, according to Gretchen Dykstra, President of the Times Square Business Improvement District (the BID) and Jed Bernstein, Executive Director of The League of American Theatres and Producers. Featuring casts from current Broadway musicals and sneak previews of the new season, the 90 minute concert will be held on a giant open-air stage in Times Square.

Broadway on Broadway is expected to attract more than 50,000 people to enjoy a Broadway musical extravaganza with numbers from Rent, Bring in `da Noise, Bring in `da Funk, Victor/Victoria, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Big, The King and I, Smokey Joe's Cafe, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Les Miserables, Grease!, Cats and new for the 1996-1997 season, Jeckyll & Hyde and Applause.

This year's celebrity talent will include Julie Andrews, Savion Glover and Company, Liz Calloway and Davis Gaines (the Phantom from The Phantom of the Opera). In addition, Chita Rivera, Ben Vereen, Rosemary Harris (A Delicate Balance) and Ed Harris (Taking Sides) will host the extravaganza. The show's 30-piece American Theatre Orchestra will be conducted by renowned musical director Paul Gemignani.

This year's pre-show will begin at 12:00 PM and will include performances by three unknowns selected during open-call auditions held earlier in the week.

Broadway on Broadway is produced by the League of American Theatres and Producers and the Times Square Business Improvement District. For the fourth year in a row, the concert is generously sponsored by the American Express Company. Other sponsors this year include Perrier, Morgan Stanley, Panasonic, Yahoo!, WOR Radio, The New York Times and the Theatre Development Fund. Music for the concert is courtesy of The Recording Industries Music Performance Trust Funds.

"We are thrilled to present Broadway on Broadway for the fifth consecutive year in the `bow tie' of Times Square," said Gretchen Dykstra. "Every year, more and more people are taking advantage of this fun, free event that is becoming a New York tradition in the new Times Square."

"Once again, the theatre community will join to create one of the City's most memorable events," said Jed Bernstein. "Broadway on Broadway presents the best Broadway has to offer with a choice sampling of hits to whet the theatre appetite."

The concert is made possible with the cooperation of the Actor's Equity Association and the Stage Hands Union Local One I.A.T.S.E. The League of American Theatres and Producers, Inc. is the national trade association for the commercial theatre industry, representing producers of Broadway and touring theatrical productions, theatre owners and operators and presenters of Broadway attractions in New York,, around the United States and Canada. Its mission is to broaden the audience for professional theatre.

The Times Square Business Improvement District, supported by assessments paid by the property owners and businesses in the area, provides supplementary sanitation and security services and works to make the "Crossroads of the World" cleaner, safer and friendlier to the millions of people who visit, work and live in the community.

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For more information, contact:

The Broadway on Broadway Information Site

Kylie Robertson
(212) 703-0238