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BroadwayWorld
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at Sony Hall |
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Hosted by Broadway Legend Chita Rivera & BroadwayWorld's Own Richard Ridge |
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Kevin Stites |
Richard Jay-Alexander |
Choreographers Baayork Lee Kyle Garvin |
Assistant Music Director Harry Collins |
Assistant Director Nellie Beavers |
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With Band Members: | ||
Ray Marchica, Kevin Ramessar, Yuka Tadano, & John Yun |
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Thank You, Michael Lee Scott, for our beautiful BroadwayWorld Cafe |
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Welcome to BroadwayWorld’s 20th Anniversary
#broadwayworld20
Good Evening-
My name is Robert Diamond, and I am the CEO and founder of BroadwayWorld. Tonight is an event that brings me great pride. If you know me, you know that talking about my feelings is not something that I often do, but as I’ve been thinking for weeks about what I wanted to say regarding this momentous anniversary event, I haven't been able to crystallize either the word or describe the plethora of emotions I'm feeling. But, as I reflected on the last two decades, I believe the right word is both simple and powerful and it is GRATITUDE.
I’m feeling true 'gratitude' for the millions that visited BroadwayWorld.com and consume our content every day over these last twenty years, gratitude to the industry both onstage and off who have contributed to our success in one way or another, gratitude for anyone who ever posted on our message boards, contributed content, posed for a photo, performed in a video, shared or liked our posts on social media, read our newsletters and even those who gave us a (usually deserved) hard time and made us stronger and better as a result.
It’s also all of you in this room tonight, and those of you joining us online that are the reason why there hasn’t been a day since the web site launched on May 5, 2003 that I haven’t worked on it in some way, shape or form. Not just because I need to get more hobbies (debatable), but it’s because you’ve all inspired me to do so and have helped to drive me and the team to where we are today. That said, I want to take a moment to acknowledge here just a few of the many who are celebrating tonight or are viewing from home.
As most people know by now, there wouldn’t have been a BroadwayWorld without an incredibly talented gentleman named Michael Crawford. As a result of following his career, having the opportunity while a student at Syracuse University to build him a a website (very early in the tech game) and engaging with his fans (including his charitable fan association, the M.C.I.F.A.) that put me on the journey of merging my passion and skills for technology with a love for the arts. I consider myself lucky that both Michael and many of his worldwide fans have become wonderful and lifelong friends.
When I started BroadwayWorld, I was working in tech publishing at the time and as a fun fact, I was not the first full time employee of the website. That distinction goes to Miles Silverman, our VP of Sales and Marketing who I met at our old day job. The look of horror on his face when I shared that I was currently selling ads myself (he’d sat through enough meetings with me to know my skills and attention span), quickly brought him on board, where he’s been ever since (thank goodness), leading our sales team and asking many of you to spend money advertising with us (and I am openly thanking you all here in public for saying ‘yes!’).
Before either the esteemed Mr. Crawford or the esteemed Mr. Silverman came into my life, there were, of course, my parents. My Dad has to take credit for introducing me to computers, and for supporting me every step of the way over these last 20 years whether managing our finances after his retirement (sorry!) to guiding me with wisdom at every twist and turn, he has always been there for me. He can also be blamed for introducing me to Michael Crawford, both literally and figuratively. He took me to see The Phantom of the Opera, and then recommended that I immediately go and listen to the Original Cast Recording after seeing the production. I immediately understood what he was trying to teach me. But, later above and beyond the call of duty, he took a day off work to accompany me to a record signing that Michael Crawford would be at. He had to work double duty to do all the talking for me. My beautiful and wonderful Mom gets credit here tonight for being solely responsible for my work ethic which has led to my career. I had early dismissal from high school, which I thought meant more time to relax, but she very quickly began shoving the classified ads at me with positions highlighted - one of which was “Fast Growing Publishing Company Seeks Junior Webmaster”. The rest, as they say, is history! She pitched in herself too, and in the early days of the website would drive to my apartment in Nyack where the website was hosted, would shoo my cat off the server and reboot it when something crashed. I’ve always suspected she cleaned a little on the way out, too (Thank you Mom).
We’ve gotten to where we are today thanks to the passion, hard work and creativity from everyone who’s ever worked for, or contributed to the site. Those who started, those who moved on, those who persevered and those who are with us now are not just the best in the business, but I think the best that we've ever had. That is what excellence is about, growing pains and all. I couldn’t be prouder of how they are helping to take BroadwayWorld forward in this precarious 21st century and leading us through the next 20 years under the brilliant editorial leadership of Nicole Rosky. If you see any of these people tonight, please give them a high five and remind them it's a work night, so they don't stay at the bar too long. Onstage tonight, you’ll shortly see Richard Ridge co-hosting alongside Chita Rivera (I still can’t believe this is happening!). Richie has served as the face of BroadwayWorld TV since it launched, and I couldn’t be more thankful to him for the gift of his talents, intelligence, grace and charming personality.
I want to thank the photographers, videographers, and everyone else 'in the trenches', not just in New York, but around the country and around the globe for their passion and tenacity. They are the ones who let us all turn on our devices in the morning to see what happened last night. I'm always impressed, and we all celebrate their work today, tonight and always as they battle crowds, weather, and sometimes other people too. I am so grateful to you all.
If you know anything about me, you'll know that it's been a challenging last year and I’m more than lucky that every step I take every day I have a creative, loving, supportive and ever-patient wife Jennifer by my side. And, my ever-inpatient but delightful 3 year old daughter Leia, whom I hope never has to moderate a message board. Jennifer has tolerated my always-anxious, always-working self (including on our honeymoon, sorry again!), while also feeding and loving me through every bit of growth, every challenge and every moment of panic. These tasks are not easy and are a lot to ask of another human being, but I couldn’t have a better partner in life.
Lastly, to the team working on tonight’s event - including longtime friends and some new faces. I’m very lucky to count Richard Jay-Alexander as one of my very best friends, and when I told him I wanted to celebrate the site turning twenty, he quickly volunteered to lead the charge. He's been there for me from the beginning is now stuck with me through the end, because whenever I have a question, problem, or idea he's there to help make it better. He’s put together an evening’s entertainment for you, along with the creative team of Kevin Stites, Baayork Lee, Nellie Beavers, Kyle Garvin, Rocky Noel, our musicians, so many of our collective favorite performers that generously agreed to be here tonight and donate their time and service and to party with us. Without them we wouldn't exist.
Thanks to all of you for helping us celebrate, for contributing your time and energy to supporting us and Broadway Cares / Equity Fights AIDS, of whom we've been proud supporters since the site's inception and we to will continue to stand side by side, looking to to the future.
If you’ve read this far, you’ll be happy to know that after tonight, I promise that I’m going to take a day off. I want you all to have a wonderful evening - and please yell, scream and celebrate because even I can't believe we've reached this milestone. In a lifetime where no tomorrows are promised, we have tonight.
With sincere gratitude,
Rob
Robert Diamond
CEO and Founder
BroadwayWorld
Who's Who
Creative Team
Chita Rivera
Richard Ridge
Richard Jay-Alexander
Baayork Lee
Kyle Garvin
Kevin Stites
Nellie Beavers
Harry Collins
John Yun
Yuka Tadano
Kevin Ramessar
Ray Marchica
Meet the Company
Shoshana Bean
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Liz Callaway
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Mario Cantone
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Jenn Colella
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Kurt Domoney
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Eden Espinosa
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Myles Frost
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Debbie Gibson
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Olivia Elease Hardy
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Brittney Johnson
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Constantine Maroulis
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Donna McKechnie
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Orfeh
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Hugh Panaro
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Randy Rainbow
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Seth Rudetsky
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Marc Shaiman
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Christopher Sieber
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Blair St. Clair
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Paulo Szot
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Elizabeth Teeter
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Natalie Toro
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Jessica Vosk
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Josh Walden
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Chita Rivera
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Richard Ridge
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Richard Jay-Alexander
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Baayork Lee
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Kyle Garvin
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Kevin Stites
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Nellie Beavers
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Harry Collins
John Yun
Yuka Tadano
Kevin Ramessar
Ray Marchica
Welcome to the New BroadwayWorld!
BroadwayWorld, the leading online platform for theater enthusiasts, is thrilled to announce the launch of its re-designed website to celebrate 20 years of serving the theater community. With a sleek and all-responsive design, rebuilt from the ground up, the revamped site offers an unparalleled new user experience and a wealth of new features for theater lovers of all ages along with improvements on every page.
New Features and Extensive Updates Include:
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All-New responsive design: Experience a seamless browsing experience across all devices with the website's brand-new design.
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Expanded Student Center: The new and improved student center now offers additional resources for people of all ages, and a revamped college database.
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Message Board Re-Design: Enjoy a more engaging online community experience with a major overhaul of the Message Board, including a new search engine with 20% speed improvements.
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Integrated Ticket Options: Conveniently purchase tickets for your favorite shows with new integrated ticket-buying options.
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Global News On Any Page: Stay up to date with the latest theater news worldwide, featured prominently in the new menu design.
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Largest Theater Database: Explore the largest theater database on the net, now with an all-new design and additional show info.
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People Pages: Discover detailed profiles of performers and creatives from around the world, with an all-new design, and additional information.
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Show Pages: Find comprehensive information about shows on Broadway, West End, and around the globe with new show pages and listing resources.
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Auditions/Jobs Resources: Access new resources to find auditions and job opportunities in the theater industry now locally as well as in New York.
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Recommendation Engine: Bookmark and save articles easily with a new, completely personalized AI-based recommendation engine, designed to enhance your browsing experience.
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Local Theater News: Browse news and updates from your local theater scene with new location-based browsing options.
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One Click Sign-in/Register: Now even easier to register for the site, subscribe to newsletters, receive personalized recommendations & more.
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More to Do: Coming to New York City? Find activities near your theater with the "More to Do" feature, linked directly from show pages.
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Camp Section: All-new camp database including Musical Theatre, Theatre, Acting, Film, Music and other camp specialties.
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Grosses - Now include new data analysis options including Play vs. Musical breakdowns, enchanced show comparisons and more.
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Improved Subscription Portal - Manage all of your BWW newsletter subscriptions and communication preferences from a new unified 'Your Settings' screen.
Stay tuned for some upcoming additional site features, as we continue to celebrate our 20th anniversary year and stay connected with the global theater community on the new BroadwayWorld.com.
Have feedback for us on the new design and features? Feel free to let us know what you like or what you think needs more work here.
About BroadwayWorld
Based in New York City, BroadwayWorld.com launched in 2003 and is now the largest theatre site on the Internet covering Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional and international theatre, including the West End. Reaching over six million monthly visitors in 100 US cities and 45 countries, BroadwayWorld delivers complete up-to-the-minute theatre news, in-depth interviews, extraordinary photo coverage, entertaining video features, lively message boards, ticket discounts, reviews, and more.
As an industry leader in all things live entertainment, the site's coverage includes TV, Film, Streaming, Movies, Music, Concerts, Opera, Dance, Classical Music and more with exclusive features for industry professionals and ticket-buyers.
For the latest updates and news, follow BroadwayWorld on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.
In the Last 20 Years...
2003
Best Musical: Hairspray
Best Play: Take Me Out
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: MySpace, Skype
2004
Best Musical: Avenue Q
Best Play: I Am My Own Wife
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Facebook
2005
Best Musical: Monty Python's Spamalot
Best Play: Doubt
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: YouTube
2006
Best Musical: Jersey Boys
Best Play: The History Boys
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Twitter
2007
Best Musical: Spring Awakening
Best Play: The Coast of Utopia
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: iPhone
2008
Best Musical: In The Heights
Best Play: August: Osage County
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Android, Airbnb
2009
Best Musical: Billy Elliot, The Musical
Best Play: God of Carnage
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: WhatsApp
2010
Best Musical: Memphis
Best Play: Red
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Instagram
2011
Best Musical: The Book of Mormon
Best Play: War Horse
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Snapchat
2012
Best Musical: Once
Best Play: Clybourne Park
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Oculus Rift
2013
Best Musical: Kinky Boots
Best Play: Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Tinder
2014
Best Musical: A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
Best Play: All the Way
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Amazon Echo (Alexa)
2015
Best Musical: Fun Home
Best Play: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Apple Watch
2016
Best Musical: Hamilton
Best Play: The Humans
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Pokémon GO
2017
Best Musical: Dear Evan Hansen
Best Play: Oslo
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: TikTok (Douyin in China)
2018
Best Musical: The Band's Visit
Best Play: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Fortnite
2019
Best Musical: Hadestown
Best Play: The Ferryman
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Folding smartphones
2020
Best Musical: *No winner due to COVID-19
Best Play: *No winner due to COVID-19
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Zoom & Remote Work
2021
Best Musical: Moulin Rouge! The Musical
Best Play: The Inheritance
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: Clubhouse
2022
Best Musical: A Strange Loop
Best Play: The Lehman Trilogy
Notable Tech Invention/Launch: AI Takes Off
BroadwayWorld By the Numbers
Website Traffic
76,182,573 visits including 5,376,283 repeat visitors and representing 236 countries in 2022.
Coverage
100 cities across the US, 40 countries and 12 languages
Content
1,000,000+ articles
61,000+ reviews
1,200,000+ photos
7,000+ videos
6,000,000+ message board posts
100,000+ recordings, videos, books listed
400,000+ productions listed
350,000+ people pages
75,000+ auditions and job listings
100,000+ custom newsletters
13,000+ shows in grosses
Education
1800+ colleges full guide
500+ camps with performing arts
200+ performing oriented scholarships
600+ student bloggers
3,000+ students in Next on Stage Seasons 1-4, 250,000+ votes
2022 BroadwayWorld Awards
2.1 Million voters
Stage Mag
10,000+ customized & interactive digital show programs, including this one!
Subscribers
Email = 1.1 Million+
Push Alerts = 100,000+
Social = 1.5 Million+ followers across all platforms, leading 400k+ on TikTok
Tonight, as we gather at Sony Hall, we acknowledge that we are on the traditional territory of the Lenape people. We honor their enduring presence and rich contributions to this land. Let us come together in celebration, fostering understanding and solidarity while recognizing the ongoing struggles of indigenous communities. We thank the Lenape people and all indigenous nations for their wisdom and connection to the land.
The Untold History of Sony Hall
- By Jennifer Ashley Tepper
On May 21st, BroadwayWorld will be celebrating their 20th anniversary with an all-star concert at Sony Hall. Co-hosted by Chita Rivera and Richie Ridge, and directed by Richard Jay-Alexander, the concert lineup is chock full of Broadway favorites and will be a thrilling night on 46th Street!
But what is the story of Sony Hall? When you've walked by its marquee on 46th Street, on the same block as the Lunt-Fontanne, current home of Sweeney Todd, and across from the Richard Rodgers, home of Hamilton, have you ever wondered: was Sony Hall ever a Broadway theater?
The venue now known as Sony Hall opened in 1928, and from 1970 to 1982 was indeed a Broadway house! But let’s rewind…
In 1928, the Paramount Hotel opened on 46th Street. The hotel near the heart of Times Square was designed by Thomas Lamb, also architect of many glorious theaters, including Broadway’s James Earl Jones (formerly Cort) Theatre. 20 stories high, the hotel was said to cost about $5 million to build. It boasted the largest grill in the United States at the time, modeled after the grills of leading restaurants in Europe. For its opening, on June 12, 1928, a party was attended by 600 people, with dinner music led by orchestra director Nahan Franko. The original Broadway production of the musical Good News was playing just across the block.
From 1928 until 1938, the basement level of the building was the Paramout Hotel’s grill room. The venue with the largest grill in America had a capacity of 850 people for fine dining and entertainment. During its first decade of life, the room’s activities included election night events and celebratory dinners for public figures. One was a historic 1929 dinner for Captain George Fried and Chief Officer Harry Manning, officers on the SS America ocean liner who rescued those on the SS Florida.
The Paramount Hotel’s grill room was brought to trial in 1930 for serving liquor during prohibition. Along with several other New York hotels, the Paramount was accused of having broken the law, and the grill room was padlocked. Reportedly, several undercover officers had been sent to the grill room in spring of 1929 and all had been served whiskey and champagne disguised as ginger ale.
In 1938, the venue previously known as the Paramount Hotel’s grill room became the iconic Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe. Billy Rose, the producer, impresario, theatre owner, lyricist, and one-time husband of Fanny Brice, opened this nightclub which lit up 46th Street until 1951. When it opened, the nightclub boasted two shows every night at 8pm and midnight, and tickets for just $1! A new marquee shaped like a horseshoe was raised on 46th Street and the venue was often booked with glamorous, lavish, themed revues filled with showgirls, cabaret artists, and theatre makers of the time. In 1945, a movie called Diamond Horseshoe, with a fictional story set in the nightclub, was filmed at the venue starring Betty Grable and Dick Haymes.
When Billy Rose’s Diamond Horseshoe closed at the start of the 1950s, the nightclub was transformed into a theater. Over the next few decades, the theater would be home to children’s theatre, burlesque, vaudeville, films, Yiddish theatre, LGBTQ+ plays, and even a few legitimate off-Broadway and Broadway productions. Known as the Stairway Theatre, the Mayfair Theatre, and the Century Theatre, the venue presented everything from The Littlest Clown, a children’s play with Elaine Stritch as guest director in 1970 to Waltz of the Stork, a 1982 semi-autobiographical Broadway play created by and starring Melvin Van Peebles. Whether the work being presented at a given time was considered Broadway, Off-Broadway, or given another distinction was largely based both on what contracts the production was on, and what was decided by critics and award administration committees at a given time.
Also presented during these years was Hang Down Your Head and Die (1964) an off-Broadway play which featured future Hair creators Jim Rado and Gerome Ragni, The Castro Complex (1970) starring Raul Julia (1970), Tubstrip (1974) an erotic gay play featuring pornstars, with significance in the LGBTQ+ artistic canon, Dance with Me (1975) a musical set in the subway which ran 396 performances after transferring from the Public Theatre, The American Dance Machine (1978), a show which was billed as “A ‘Living Archive’ of Broadway Theatre Dance; great theatre dances saved from oblivion”, and a return engagement of the original Broadway production of the hit play On Golden Pond (1979).
For many years, from the early 1980s to the early 2010s, the venue was closed and in disrepair, selectively opened for rare private events—including a lunch in Andy Warhol’s memory after his 1987 memorial. Then, in 2013, the space on 46th Street underneath the Paramount Hotel reopened as the Diamond Horseshoe yet again. The show to reopen the venue was Queen of the Night, a large-scale immersive theatrical production that also included circus and food elements. The venue closed again in 2015 and was home to only private events for several years before its 2018 opening as Sony Hall.
Since 2018, the former Paramount Hotel grill room/ Diamond Horseshoe/ Broadway and off-Broadway theater has welcomed audiences as Sony Hall, a concert venue featuring a wide variety of eclectic musical acts.
Charity Support
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the single largest financial supporter of the essential social service programs at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), including the HIV/AIDS Initiative, the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative and The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts. We also award annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations nationwide.
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people living with HIV/AIDS, struggling with COVID-19 and facing other critical illnesses in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C.
Meet the Team
Founder/CEO:
Robert Diamond
Vice President, Sales & Marketing:
Miles Silverman
Editor-in-Chief:
Nicole Rosky
Director, Digital Strategy & Regional Media:
Alan Henry
Managing Editors:
Alexa Criscitiello
Chloe Rabinowitz
Stephi Wild
Entertainment Editor:
Michael Major
UK Senior Managing Editor:
Aliya Al-Hassan
Social Media Manager:
HayleyJane Rose
Weekend Newsdesk Editor/
Special Projects Coordinator:
Blair Ingenthron
Marketing/Sales:
Alex Freeman
Madelyn Lego
Dianna Garten
Stephen Hladik
Isaac Childs
Photographers:
Jennifer Broski
Bruce Glikas
Genevieve Rafter Keddy
Stephen Sorokoff
Video Content Lead:
Joey Mervis
BroadwayWorld TV
Richard Ridge
Katie Lynch
Ben Cameron
Candace Cordelia
And more around the BroadwayWorld!
Congrats To...
Nicole Quintana, the winner of The Ultimate BroadwayWorld Experience Fan Contest!
"I’ve been a member of BroadwayWorld since 2004! As a musical theatre teacher it is necessary to stay on top of all the latest news on Broadway. I have been able to increase both lesson plans and repertoire for my students through the exciting articles featured every week... I strive to fill my life with creativity and arts and opening my email to see BroadwayWorld waiting for me is the highlight of my day! Also, Broadway World has incredible games inspired by the shows and terms used in the Great White Way! Several of my students who have gone on to perform on Broadway have been mentioned in articles and featured videos. I’m so grateful to hear of their triumphs in the professional world through BroadwayWorld. Suffice to say BroadwayWorld has a fan for life in this Thespian!"