The Music Man creates important new programs
Photo credit: Joan Marcus
The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster opened on Broadway in a grand manner this past week. With star studded guests walking the red carpet, and high school marching bands welcoming excited guests outside the theatre, it has been proclaimed a smash hit.
And now the major producers have announced that the revival will make available 10,000 tickets at $20 each to New York City students, their families, and teachers to help make Broadway more accessible.
Specific initiatives have been outlined to further this effort:
Teachers Night Out-teachers from the five boroughs are invited to attend for $20 on various Tuesdays throughout the production’s run.
Family Shows-each Wednesday night 10 families from under-resourced communities will be accommodated.
Classroom Tickets-3,500 tickets will be allotted annually and offered to schools and education non-profits.
Student Matinees– the show will celebrate “back-to-school” month on two Wednesdays in September, providing tickets to 600 students at each matinee, followed by a cast talk back.
Some wonderful programs have been created from this show that first hit the boards in 1957. Obviously, the producers expect a nice, long, healthy run, providing confidence that Broadway is coming back!
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
