Tim Dolan's BROADWAY UP CLOSE Walking Tours Offer Behind-the-Scenes Look at Theatre District

The hubbub of 42nd Street, the history of musicals, onstage mishaps, David Merrick's antics, ghost stories, and the transformation of Times Square from an area full of manure and horse stables to one of the busiest tourist destinations in the world - actor Tim Dolan's BROADWAY UP CLOSE walking tours offer theater lovers a unique look behind the scenes of the Broadway Theater District.

Led by Tim -- and other theater professionals who are also licensed tour guides -- each guide equipped with an iPad chock full of one-of-a-kind photos and videos on Broadway and theater history - BROADWAY UP CLOSE's walking tours have won the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015. They are consistently rated in the top 15 highest-rated walking tours in NYC and have risen as high as the #1 position.

Broadway Up Close Walking Tours Inc. started six years ago as a seed of an idea by actor Tim Dolan after returning from touring the country in a small bus and truck production of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. At each tour stop Tim was fascinated by the ghost stories and legends told by local stagehands at differnet Vaudeville and touring houses each night. Upon returning to New York City, Tim started to explore the history and legends that have taken place in New York's Broadway theaters. Unearthing truly fantastic stories from over the past 100 years, Tim felt compelled to start a walking tour of the Broadway Theater District, further detailing and sharing those ghost stories, anecdotes and wonderful stories with the theater masses who journey to New York City to take in a show. In addition to theater history Tim and his guides also share the inner workings of the life of an actor and other theater professionals, giving patrons a comprehensive tour that changes the way the general public experiences a Broadway show. Never again will they set foot in a theater without thinking about those walls and velvet seats that have housed so many other theatrical memories before them, and that they are now linked personally to that individual theater's legacy.

In the past six years the BROADWAY UP CLOSE team has expanded and now includes a staff of 14 highly passionate tour guides. Their cumulative experience encompasses Broadway, Off-Broadway, national tours, regional theater, and film and television both onstage as well as behind the scenes. In addition to their work in the theater, each of the guides is licensed as a tour guide by the city of New York.

Tim Dolan, Broadway Up Close Walking Tours Inc. CEO, is originally from Detroit, Michigan. Tim moved to the Big Apple 12 years ago and continues to pursue a career in the arts. Tim was recently seen in the Transport Group's NYC revival of Once Upon A Mattress starring Jackie Hoffman and Lypsinka at Abrams Arts Center. As an actor Tim was featured on Season Two of HBO's "Boardwalk Empire." Onstage Tim performed as Abraham in the long-running hit musical Altar Boyz. He has been a proud member of Actor's Equity for the past ?ve years. As an arts educator Tim is on faculty at Rosie's Theater Kids, Rosie O'Donnell's arts organization, as well as Dream Makers Performing Arts. Having always wanted to pry open the Broadway history books and oral histories, Broadway Up Close Walking Tours Inc. has been a labor of love that has been sharing stories and smiles with theater-goers for the last five years on the busy sidewalks of the Broadway theater district.

Broadway Up Close currently offers public tours daily at 11am, lasting approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes. Tickets are $35 per person. private tours are $75 per ticket and can be scheduled for any number of guests, anytime between 9 am and 5pm. Group rates for students are also available, ranging from as little as $18 per ticket for groups of 46 or more to $24 per ticket for groups of up to 15 students.

You can purchase tickets and find additional information at www.BroadwayUpClose.com.