A special live event will be held on 25 October 2021 at New York City’s Town Hall Theater, celebrating the official return of Broadway. Taking place courtesy of title sponsor Staging Concepts, the live production will feature appearances and performances by Broadway talents.
Staging Concepts, a provider of staging solutions and equipment, joined forces with SiriusXM’s Broadway Channel personality Seth Rudetsky and his husband, producer James Wesley, to host the event.
“Few industries have been as impacted by the pandemic as live theatre and events,” said Cindy Albrecht, director of sales and marketing for Staging Concepts, a division of Trex Commercial Products. “We work intimately with theatres and performance venues of all types and we know what a long, dark period of pause and uncertainty this has been for the entire industry. We share in the excitement of this much-anticipated return of live productions and are pleased to have this opportunity to share in the celebration by giving back to the wonderfully resilient community that we serve.”
The Celebrating the Return of Broadway event will be a special live version of Stars In The House, an online series launched by Rudetsky and Wesley during the pandemic to help support the Broadway and performing arts community. Episodes feature stars of stage and screen sharing stories and performing live (from home) to promote support for charitable services for those most vulnerable to the effects of COVID-19. The Town Hall event will mirror the show’s typical format featuring interviews and presentations by prominent Broadway and New York personalities, along with live musical acts by Broadway performers.
Among the stars slated to appear (subject to change) are Chita Rivera, Kelli O’Hara, Laura Benanti, Liz Callaway, Dana Delany, Andy Karl, Anika Larsen, Bebe Neuwirth, Brenda Braxton, Charlotte d’Amboise, Christine Pedi, Marc Shaiman, Orfeh and Schele Williams. The event will be livestreamed for audiences around the world.
“Seth and I are so excited to bring the show that we have been doing from our house for the past 17 months to The Town Hall in New York City, in front of a live and in-person audience,” said Wesley. “We’re going to look back at some of our favourite moments from the show with the artists actually on stage beside us and, of course, celebrate the return of Broadway with live performances – all while celebrating the work of everyone at The Actors Fund.”
Since the first episode aired on 16 March 2020, Stars in the House has raised more than US$1m (€0.85m) to benefit The Actors Fund, and over US$264,000 (€225,196m) for other charities including the NAACP LDF, Trevor Project, Humane Society of New York, Waterkeeper Alliance, You Gotta Believe, Cancer Support Community, New York City Gay Men’s Chorus, Youth Pride Chorus, and more.
Proceeds from the Town Hall event will benefit The Actors Fund as well as Your Kids Our Kids, a non-profit organisation providing funding and support to organisations who are working to defend basic civil and human rights to marginalised groups. Additionally, Staging Concepts is donating a large block of tickets for the event to be given to stage crew and theatre professionals significantly impacted by the pandemic.
“The mission of Staging Concepts is to elevate the abilities of all people to safely access and enjoy amazing life experiences, and we can only do that when there are amazing live events to experience,” noted Albrecht. “We are so grateful to Seth and James for the tireless work they have done to support the performing arts community during this difficult time and are proud to be part of such a momentous and meaningful event.”
Tickets for the live Stars in the House event are available through Ticketmaster starting at US$25 (€21.3).
