Video: Tony Vincent Talks Broadway for Democracy and Using Theatre to Inspire Civic Engagement

Broadway’s stories, songs, and stages have always united people — across backgrounds, beliefs, and perspectives. Now, Broadway for Democracy is channeling that power to inspire participation in the democratic process. Through performances, nationwide events, and accessible resources, the organization is aiming to make it easier for everyone to register, vote, and get involved. One of the people behind this mission is none other than Broadway's very own Tony Vincent (American Idiot, Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar). 

"My wife and co-founder of Broadway for Democracy, [Raven Chapman], were with friends of ours in London. And we were at a time when a lot of stuff was going on globally, not just here in America, and we got kind of challenged to do something. 'Will you do something, Tony?' I'm like, 'Well, what are we gonna do?,'" he recently explained to Richard Ridge at the iconic West Bank Cafe. "So we go home and we start talking about what we do to really move the needle of just getting people more aware of what's going on in their backyard on a political level, but also how to encourage people to just be more engaged.

"From my history of being on Broadway for 20 plus years... we started to dig into the numbers [to realize that] over thirty million people see a Broadway show in New York and on national tours. And so it made sense for us to figure out a way to use the Broadway brand to impact people in a nonpartisan way to just be voter-engaged, to be more civically aware."

Tony isn't the only Broadway name behind the project. The Board and Ambassador team also includes Stark Sands, Adam Pascal, Kecia Lewis, Michael Mayer, Kate Rockwell, Marc Kudisch, Constantine Maroulis, and many more. 

Watch in this video as Tony chats more about the importance of being informed, engaging with government, and showing up to vote. Learn more about Broadway for Democracy and make a difference by donating to their mission today!