SPONGEBOB's Tina Landau, LION KING's Alton Fitzgerald White and More Slated for TEDxBroadway 2017

When the sixth annual TEDxBroadway returns to New World Stages in New York City, on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, organizers will greet the always sold-out event with new speakers, a new format and a new focus -- "Let's Talk."

"For the first five years, we've asked speakers and the audience to approach the day with one central question in mind, 'What is the BEST Broadway Can Be?'" says Damian Bazadona, TEDxBroadway Co-Organizer and founder of Situation Interactive. "Making Broadway the best is still at the core of why we do this event and we're committed to that. But, this year, we're going to strengthen that resolve by really opening up a meaningful dialogue with all in attendance throughout the day."

"This year's TEDxBroadway will be more interactive for everybody involved," adds Jim McCarthy, CEO of Goldstar. "We all need to talk about the ideas we're putting on our stage, out in the community and beyond that help shape the Broadway eco-system in the future."

True to the TED tradition, each year TEDxBroadway organizers pulls speakers from vast perspectives, varying expertise, and some fields people may not even have heard of yet - all with "ideas worth spreading."

Speakers for this year will include (more speakers to be announced later):

- Tina Landau is a writer, director, and teacher whose work includes directing/conceiving The Spongebob Musical.

- Alton Fitzgerald White, a singer, actor and dancer who broke Broadway records with 4,308 performances as King Mufasa in The Lion King.

- Dr. Desmond Upton Patton, an Assistant Professor at the Columbia School of Social Work and a Faculty Affiliate of the Social Intervention Group (SIG) and the Data Science Institute (DSI).

- Rachelle Pereira, the Co-Founder of EQUALibrium Group, a leadership and communication consulting firm dedicated to nurturing and building Powerful Modern Leaders.

- Lester Vrtiak, who manages The Sing for Hope Pianos program, the country's largest recurring public arts project of artist-designed pianos placed throughout the parks and public spaces of NYC's five boroughs each summer.

- Jon Albert, the Founder and President of Jack & Jill Late Stage Cancer Foundation.

Additional details are available at www.TEDxBroadway.com. Interested attendees can purchase tickets at www.tedxbroadway.com/2017. Follow TEDxBroadway on Twitter: @TEDxBroadway. The conference will begin at 1pm on March 21, 2017. Tickets are $100.

About TEDx, x = independently organized event - In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. At a TEDx event, TED Talks video and live speakers combine to spark deep discussion and connection. These local, self-organized events are branded TEDx, where x = independently organized TED event. The TED Conference provides general guidance for the TEDx program, but individual TEDx events are self-organized. (Subject to certain rules and regulations.)

About TED - TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading, usually in the form of short, powerful talks (18 minutes or fewer) delivered by today's leading thinkers and doers. Many of these talks are given at TED's annual conference in Vancouver, British Columbia, and made available, free, on TED.com. TED speakers have included Bill Gates, Jane Goodall, Elizabeth Gilbert, Sir Richard Branson, Nandan Nilekani, Philippe Starck, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Sal Khan and Daniel Kahneman.

TED's open and free initiatives for spreading ideas include TED.com, where new TED Talk videos are posted daily; the Open Translation Project, which provides subtitles and interactive transcripts as well as translations from thousands of volunteers worldwide; the educational initiative TED-Ed; the annual million-dollar TED Prize, which funds exceptional individuals with a "wish," or idea, to create change in the world; TEDx, which provides licenses to thousands of individuals and groups who host local, self-organized TED-style events around the world; and the TED Fellows program, which selects innovators from around the globe to amplify the impact of their remarkable projects and activities.

Follow TED on Twitter at twitter.com/TEDTalks, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TED or Instagram at instagram.com/ted.