New Restaurant Gives Customers Chance to Dine and Perform

Introducing Spotlight Live is an interactive dining and live performance venue in Times Square where guests walk in for dinner and walk out a star.  Everyone wants their fifteen minutes of fame; Spotlight Live gives revelers the opportunity to perform in front of a live audience, backed by professional singers, as well as cut a track in a private recording booth.  A JumboTron outside the restaurant broadcasts the performances in real time for those passing by in Times Square, and live and recorded performances stream online and air on demand TV to a worldwide audience.

Occupying 23,000 sq ft in the heart of New York City, the state-of-the-art venue features four floors of groundbreaking technology, developed exclusively for Spotlight Live.  Guests get their shot in the spotlight, performing on one of the venue's two stages or cutting an album in a private recording booth.  A behind-the-scenes green room helps guests prep for their performance, offering backstage advice from choreographers as well as professional hair and makeup artists.  For those interested in keeping their performances private, Spotlight Live features a private party space for 100 guests.

Performers have a unique opportunity to take their star turn on television, thanks to an exclusive deal with Comcast, which will air performances on their video on demand service and broadcast select singers in real-time on the JumboTron outside the Times Square restaurant.  Live and recorded performances will be accessible via spotlightlive.com and housed on ziddio.com, the national user-generated site launched by Comcast.  Interactive table-tops and interfaces on Spotlightlive.com will also enable viewers to rate and comment on the would-be stars.  In addition, an unprecedented partnership with a soon-to-be-announced record label offers talented performers a "once-in-a-lifetime" chance at a record deal.

Culinary star Kerry Simon creates the American fare for Spotlight Live.  "Dubbed by Rolling Stone as the 'Rock 'n' Roll Chef,' Simon is heralded for his inventive, whimsical approach to classic American fare, putting his cutting-edge stamp on comfort foods for the new Spotlight Live menu.  Starters will include "Central Park" Pigs in a Blanket with spicy mustard and relish and French Onion Dip with Homemade Potato Chips.  Classic entrees will include Pretzel Crusted Pork Chops with Sweet Potato Mash and Spaghetti and Meatballs with cheese garlic bread.  Finally, the dessert menu will include nostalgic favorites like Cotton Candy, Spotlight Cupcakes, Make- Your-Own Sundaes and Sno Cones.  Already a smash success with his eponymous restaurants in Las Vegas and LA, Chef Simon serves up imaginative and modern cuisine to the Times Square locale," state press notes.

Spotlight Live takes the concept of user-generated content to the next level, featuring many technological and interactive firsts incorporated into all aspects of the venue.  When guests enter, their photos are uploaded onto the interactive system, offering access to all guest profiles and enabling everyone to communicate with each other through the system's instant messaging service.  Using the tableside touch-screen, guests will scroll through Spotlight Live's extensive song inventory and vote and post comments on performances.  Large screen TVs will display voting results throughout the performances and also feature comments from viewers both at the venue and on the internet.  Thanks to ziddio.com and spotlightlive.com, friends and family at home can get into the act, watching the live performances and instantaneously posting comments and casting votes for their favorites.  In addition, guests will have the option to privately record their performances in individual recording booths and will be able to purchase a CD or DVD of their performance or post the tracks online.

"User-generated content is one of the most popular forms of entertainment available today.  To cater to emerging entertainers, Spotlight Live and Ziddio have created a real-time, walk-in user-generated video location," said Elizabeth Schimel, Senior Vice President, Entertainment, Comcast Interactive Media.  "This will be one of the first instances where users have free access to upload their public live performances to the web and television to be viewed across the nation.  We're thrilled to be working with Spotlight Live, a venue that offers so many innovations in entertainment and interactive technology."

The woman behind Spotlight Live is former film executive-turned- restaurant mogul Jennifer Worthington, who cites America's obsession with fame and reality TV as part of her inspiration for Spotlight Live.  "I wanted to give people the opportunity to experience stardom, which Americans are constantly witness to in our media and culture," says Worthington, the entertainment powerhouse who was a top executive with filmmaker Jerry Bruckheimer before transitioning into hospitality.  "The entertaining environment of Spotlight Live, coupled with the venue's unique interactive technology, naturally encourages families, friends and complete strangers to interact and have fun."

Starting April 5, Spotlight Live, which is located at 1604 Broadway in New York City, will be open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.  For more information, visit www.spotlightlive.com.