Photos: Go Inside the ChaShaMa Gala Kick-Off To Celebrate Broadway Industry Innovator, BroadwayHD

On Tuesday, May 9, 2023, ChaShaMa held a kick-off party celebrating BroadwayHD, the premiere theater streaming service, at Anita's Way in Times Square. BroadwayHD will be honored at the ChaSahaMa Gala on June 8th for its commitment to Broadway and live performing arts.

Founded in 2015, BroadwayHD is the only streaming service offering premium full-length stage plays and musicals to theater fans across the globe. BroadwayHD offers subscribers unlimited, on-demand access to a library of more than 300 titles from Broadway, The West End, and beyond.

Founded in 1995 by Anita Durst, ChaShaMa has transformed dozens of locations throughout New York City and launched the careers of over 12,000 artists by using temporarily vacant storefronts and windows for free public installation spaces, artists' workspace, and presentation space. ChaShaMa has partnered with developers and property owners to transform their empty buildings into centers of creativity to increase local foot traffic and support area businesses. These spaces are also used for artists, small businesses, and free community-centric art classes.

Attendees at the kick-off cocktail party were treated to live performances by Fritz Donnelly, Megan Sipe, Maine Anders, Christy O'Connor, Jei Osorio Sarah Toumani, and Andressa Furletti, who walked around and performed to individuals around the event. In addition, Chris Reilly (aka Flambeaux Fire) and his company presented a special fire dance piece. Flambeaux is currently working on his play "The Calling." In addition, an art installation by Frankie Lane was also present.

BroadwayHD has introduced the excitement of 'live theater' to a younger audience and made theater accessible to those who may not have the opportunity to visit a Broadway theater in New York. As well as hit shows, the service also promotes lesser-known productions. It also attracts new fans and nurtures their interest in attending a live performance. "ChaShama values organizations and individuals with a long-standing commitment to the arts. We are thrilled to recognize BroadwayHD as a Broadway industry innovator. Innovation is a change to an existing product or field, and BroadwayHD is leading the digital transformation of live theatre arts," said Anita Durst.

The mission of BroadwayHD is to extend the reach of Broadway globally to people with a passion for live theater and to attract new fans. BroadwayHD democratizes a once-elite art form and makes the shows accessible on the Internet to a worldwide fanbase yearning for this type of entertainment, eliminating the economic, geographic, and physical barriers to attending live theater productions.

In a ground-breaking first, in June 2016, BroadwayHD, alongside the Roundabout Theatre Company, broke the Guinness World Record for the first Broadway show to be live-streamed. The historical performance of She Loves Me was viewed live in real-time by audiences in over 84 countries worldwide. While the demographic of the Broadway ticket buyer is 40-plus, most BroadwayHD subscribers are 18 to 34 years old. By creating access to these shows, the platform is encouraging the consumption of live theatre productions by a younger global audience and promoting a healthy future for live West End and Broadway theater by creating a new generation of theater lovers.

Through an educational distribution arm, BroadwayHD has also ensured that the service is available via schools and colleges at a significant discount. Using the streaming service, students can study a full range of stage shows and receive regularly updated backstage documentaries highlighting the intricacies of production behind the scenes.

BroadwayHD founders Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane will accept the ChaShaMa honor from ChaShaMa founder Anita Durst at the June 8th Gala in New York City. For tickets and more information, see www.ChaShaMa.org

For more information on BroadwayHD, visit www.BroadwayHD.com

Photos from Annie Watt Photography & S. Eichner (for Rob Rich/SocietyAllure.com)