Bill de Blasio News

Under typical circumstances, it would be a difficult task to judge just how much a piece of theater is affecting an audience. The average age of a theatergoer hovers in the range of 40 to 45 years old, and by then social mores have taken over and hammered in the rules of 'proper' theater etiquette. You may hear measured laughs and gasps or catch a few tears slipping out, but for the most part, instinctual, visceral and verbal reactions are reeled in. But, when you take a Broadway play and put it in front of 18,000 students in one of the world's most famous arenas, the energy rises to match its surroundings. High points are celebrated with deafening cheers, the dislike of characters is vocalized, and the silences are heightened. When Aaron Sorkin's To Kill A Mockingbird became the first ever Broadway play to perform at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, the sheer magnitude of the surroundings and the unbridled energy that comes from 18,000 kids sharing a space made it impossible to forget for even a second that history was unfolding in front of your eyes.

Just yesterday, a capacity crowd of 18,000 New York City public school students made history, along side the Broadway cast of To Kill a Mockingbird. Aaron Sorkin's new play, directed by Bartlett Sher, and based on Harper Lee's classic novel, became the first-ever Broadway play to perform at The World's Most Famous Arena, New York's Madison Square Garden. With the extraordinary support of James L. Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of The Madison Square Garden Company, this unprecedented, single-performance event was entirely free to students of New York City Department of Education public middle and high schools from all five boroughs.

This afternoon, a capacity crowd of 18,000 New York City public school students made history, along side the Broadway cast of To Kill a Mockingbird. Aaron Sorkin's new play, directed by Bartlett Sher, and based on Harper Lee's classic novel, became the first-ever Broadway play to perform at The World's Most Famous Arena, New York's Madison Square Garden.  With the extraordinary support of James L. Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of The Madison Square Garden Company, this unprecedented, single-performance event was entirely free to students of New York City Department of Education public middle and high schools from all five boroughs.

Today, the Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird, Aaron Sorkin's new play, directed by Bartlett Sher, and based on Harper Lee's classic novel, will become the first-ever Broadway play to perform at New York's Madison Square Garden.

The Broadway production of To Kill a Mockingbird, Aaron Sorkin's new play, directed by Bartlett Sher, and based on Harper Lee's classic novel, will become the first-ever Broadway play to perform at The World's Most Famous Arena, New York's Madison Square Garden, in front of approximately 18,000 New York City public school students.

A week after a fire severely damaged a City-owned building at 70 Mulberry Street in Chinatown that housed a number of cultural and community service organizations, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced that City agencies have made major progress recovering important archives that were feared lost.

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce will pay tribute to the work of outstanding business and community leaders at its Black History celebration on Tuesday, February 4th, 2020, at the Billie Holiday Theatre at Bedford Stuyvesant Restoration, 1368 Fulton Street, Brooklyn. The evening celebration begins with a Cocktail Hour at 6:00 p.m. followed by the Awards Ceremony at 7:15 p.m.

The de Blasio Administration today announced the launch of the IDNYC renewal campaign, new and returning benefit partners, and the IDNYC Middle School Card. With the fifth anniversary of the IDNYC program approaching and the first set of cards set to expire beginning in January 2020, the program has also introduced a new card design and a comprehensive, citywide advertising and targeted outreach campaign to promote renewals. IDNYC is the largest and most successful municipal ID program in the country with over 1.3 million cardholders.

On Saturday, November 2, Flushing Town Hall will celebrate the Festival of Lights with its fifth annual Diwali Festival, a Diwali Dance Party that features DJ Rekha and Abha Roy in a mash-up of Bhangra and Kathak music and dance styles. The celebration also will include cooking workshops, dance lessons, traditional foods, and family-friendly activities such as henna painting, a jewelry workshop, Indian fashions and games.

As part of its ongoing 'Votegasm 2020' coverage of the presidential campaign, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah today announced Democratic presidential candidates Beto O'Rourke and Senator Amy Klobuchar will appear as guests on Monday, October 28 and Wednesday, October 30, respectively. The late-night franchise will also welcome back former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Rodham Clinton with Chelsea Clinton, who will appear together on The Daily Show on Thursday, October 31, to discuss their new book, 'The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience.'

For the past 11 years A Free Bird Organization worked hard to give pediatric cancer patients the ability to pursue their artistic passions and heal with the arts. Now they announce their fifth annual Gala, Diamonds, where children will be able to achieve their artistic potential of shining as bright and being as strong as a diamond.

Trevor Noah welcomes Presidential candidate Mark Sanford on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah. Watch the interview Monday, September 30 at 11pm ET/PT on Comedy Central.

An exclusive BWW Q&A interview with Chris Massimine, the newly named Managing Director at Pioneer Theatre Company. 'PTC has such a brilliant reputation for top-tier work and first-class service, to both patrons and visiting artists alike. The company's artistic leadership in Karen Azenberg is second-to-none in my opinion,' he says.

Last night, Sheldon Harnick received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Songbook Association! Performers included Kissy Simmons, Klea Blackhurst, Adam Heller, Danny Bacher, Samantha Massell, Melanie Moore, Alexandra Silber, Brad Oscar, Liz Callaway, Jeff Harnar & Alex Rybeck, Alan Schmuckler, Jeffrey Saver and Rhyn Mclemore Saver, Ed Dixon, Sidney Myer, Judy Kuhn, Robert Cuccioli, and Steven Skybell.

Fall is about to get festive at Flushing Town Hall! The global arts venue will unveil its fall season a?" filled with more than 30 programs to entertain audiences of all ages and backgrounds a?" at a news conference on Thursday, September 5, 2019. The launch event will feature mini-showcases, including from Roberta Piket.

A White Man's Guide to Rikers Island transports the audience from the privilege and prominence of a New Jersey golf club to the cacophony and brutality of New York's Rikers Island. Occasional moments of levity stand in stark contrast to the overall gravity of the violence-laden narrative, one that explores how Richard Roy (a straight, white, cisgender male) adapted to life as a racial minority in the world's largest penal colony that is 92% Black or Hispanic. Roy spares no detail of his personal lived experience at Rikers; guilt, shame, terror and sadness permeate the play and haunt him still.

Prior to Thursday night's performance of Anais Mitchell's Hadestown, Tony and Emmy Award winner André De Shields was being honored at the annual Harlem Week kick-off reception at Gracie Mansion in New York.

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) today announced the appointment of Leah C. Johnson as Chief Communications and Marketing Officer. A communications strategist and entrepreneur with deep experience across sectors, Johnson joins Lincoln Center effective immediately. In this newly created position, Johnson will unite all of LCPA's strategic communications and marketing functions.