PHOTO FLASH: The Broadway League launches VIVA BROADWAY!

The Broadway League has created Viva Broadway, a new audience development partnership with the Hispanic community, to help bridge the world of Broadway with Latino audiences around the country.  The long-term initiative aims to increase awareness about Broadway while culturally enriching lives, bringing families together, and building new careers in the theatre. A National Advisory Board of industry and cultural notables has been formed to help strategize and spread the word about all that Broadway has to offer this growing and vibrant community. 

The Viva Broadway advisory board includes Jack Rico (editor-in-chief of ShowBizCafe.com), Luis Alvarez (founder of The Wonderland Group), Lucie Arnaz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, board member of American Theatre Wing), Rosie Berrido, Carolina Casares (editor-in-chief of Yahoo! Hispanic Americas), Felix Cisneros, Raúl Esparza (Leap of Faith), C. Raúl Espinoza, Gabriela Garcia, Marcela Gómez, Maria Cristina Gonzalez Noguera, Linda Guerrero, Jackie Hernández, Leon Ichaso, Mari Rodriguez Ichaso, John Leguizamo(Ghetto Klown), Monique Manso, Bianca Marroquin (In the Heights), Luis Miranda,Lou Moreno (artistic director of INTAR Theatre), Noelia Rodriguez,Karen Olivo (In the Heights), Chita Rivera (West Side Story), Luis Salgado, Carlos Sanchez, musician Gustavo Santaolalla, Jamie-Lynn Sigler (Beauty and the Beast), choreographer Sergio Trujillo (Leap of Faith), Yul Vasquez (artistic director of the LAByrinth Theater Company), Carmen Wong Ulrich, Gabriela Zabalúa and Marco Zunino (Chicago).

Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the Broadway League states, “Our mission of attracting more people to Broadway is particularly applicable to a community whose culture appreciates and values family activities shared by multiple generations together.” 

"For me this is a natural expansion of what we do. Little by little we are proving the importance of the latino communities presence in the arts and on BROADWAY and to have an opinion among such important group of people is a great honor." Says Luis Salgado who is currently directing and choreographing the workshop of Amigo Duende for R.Evolución Latina. "I came to NYC DREAMING of being on Broadway and 10 years later, not only I've been able to be part of this community as a performer and creative but also in this effort to make a closer relationship between the Broadway heater world and our LATINO COMMUNITY. I hope that in 10 more years there are more Latino Broadway Shows, More latinos on the stage and for sure a bigger latino audience GOING BEYOND!"

The goal is to draw from an untapped market while making Broadway more relevant to Hispanic families and their lifestyles. An objective is to work with and support Hispanic media outlets in their coverage of Broadway to increase awareness and awaken a desire to attend shows. The initiative will include education on all things Broadway such as how to buy Broadway tickets, how to find out what’s playing, who’s on stage, and more. For career development, Viva Broadway will create Broadway Speakers Bureaus and workshops in order to expand awareness of jobs in the theatre to high schools and colleges. 

Upcoming goals include national test pilot programs in Los Angeles, Nashville, Miami, Dallas/Ft. Worth; Broadway Speakers Panel and education initiatives; media partnerships; sponsorship opportunities and corporate support; brand ambassadors; the launch of a Viva Broadway Week; plus more. 

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