BWW TV: Barry Manilow Returns to Broadway- Inside the Street Unveiling Plus an Exclusive Interview!

Grammy Award-winning superstar Barry Manilow's hometown concert event, Manilow on Broadway, began its limited Broadway engagement on January 18, 2013, at the St. James Theatre (246 West 44th Street). Opening Night is set for Thursday, January 24, 2013.

The music icon met the press earlier yesterday, where he chatted with BroadwayWorld's Richard Ridge about the importance of musical theatre throughout his life, how it influenced his career, and more! Plus we take you inside the unveiling of Manilow Way on 44th Street. Check out what he had to say below!

With worldwide sales of more than 80 million records, success is a benchmark in popular music. Rolling Stone crowned him "a giant among entertainers... the showman of our generation," and Frank Sinatra summed up Manilow best when Ol' Blue Eyes told the British press, "He's next." He currently has 50 Top 40 hits. And now, Manilow is returning to the place where it all began, his hometown, New York City, with a new concert series on Broadway - marking his return to The Great White Way for the first time in more than two decades with Manilow on Broadway.

Manilow's roots remain in his native Brooklyn, where music was an integral part of his life. By the age of seven, he was taking accordion lessons and playing on a neighbor's piano. Choosing a career in music while still in his teens, he attended New York College of Music and the Juilliard School of Music while working in the mailroom at CBS. He subsequently became musical director for a CBS show named "Callback" (the predecessor to "American Idol") which led to a lucrative sideline on New York's advertising jingle circuit.

Since then, Manilow has been ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R (Radio & Records), with no less than 25 consecutive Top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1975 and 1983. The list includes all-time favorites that Manilow still sings today: "Mandy," "It's A Miracle," "Could It Be Magic," "I Write the Songs," "Tryin' To Get the Feeling Again," "This One's For You," "Weekend In New England," "Looks Like We Made It," "Can't Smile Without You," "Even Now," and the Grammy Award-winning "Copacabana (At the Copa)." Manilow's Broadway show is destined to be as legendary as the man himself.

Tickets, ranging in price from $50 to $350, are now on sale. For tickets and more information, visit www.ManilowOnBroadway.com.

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