The Broadway League Launches Broadway Bridges on the Road

The Broadway League is launching Broadway Bridges on the Road, a new initiative aimed at expanding access to Broadway touring performances for high school students nationwide. Building on the success of its New York City counterpart, this program provides discounted tickets to productions at participating Broadway League Member venues. By collaborating with touring productions, these organizations offer affordable tickets to local high schools, making field trips to Broadway across the country a reality. This initiative enriches students’ arts education, promotes cultural equity, and cultivates a diverse future audience for live theatre.

“Broadway Bridges has been hugely successful in New York, introducing 120,000 local public school sophomores and chaperones to Broadway since its inception in 2017. We aim to emulate that success nationwide with the launch of Broadway Bridges on the Road,” said Jason Laks, Interim President of The Broadway League. “The work of our Road Member venues cannot be overstated, as they are often the first institutions to provide young people with the opportunity to experience a Broadway show. Our hope is that the launch of this new initiative will help our colleagues to streamline their efforts, expand their reach, and provide unforgettable experiences to increasing numbers of young people across the country, instilling in them a lifelong love of live theatre. We are thankful to our Members for their partnership and support as we launch this important initiative.”

“New York City public high school students across the five boroughs have Broadway shows in relatively close proximity; for some, they are right on their doorstep. Still, the journey into and around midtown Manhattan for a show isn’t always possible or a priority, for any number of reasons. Broadway Bridges has been a way for the League’s Member productions in NYC to help make entry into our world of live theater just a little easier,” said Seth Sklar-Heyn, Executive Producer at Cameron Mackintosh Inc. and Co-Chair of The Broadway League’s Audience Engagement Committee. “Thankfully, Broadway’s reach also goes far beyond Times Square and productions thrive on stages around the country year-round. It is wonderful to know we can continue to promote a similar kind of direct engagement with students all over thanks to our participating members and shows. We hope the expansion of Broadway Bridges continues to support essential arts programming and partnerships that are already in place in so many of our League Member venues. We want to provide our Road colleagues with an efficient and actionable blueprint that they can adopt to enhance their existing programs and, perhaps even more importantly, introduce new access points for young people to engage with Broadway shows for the first time in their hometown.”

24 League Member venues from 16 states across the country will be participating in this inaugural season, including:

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County, American Theatre Guild, ASU Gammage, Bass Concert Hall, Bass Performance Hall, Blumenthal Arts, Broadway at The National, Broadway San Diego, Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Ensemble Arts Philly, Fox Cities Performing Arts Center, Majestic Theatre, Marcus Performing Arts Center, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Benedum Center, Popejoy Hall, Robinson Center, Saenger Theatre, Shea's Performing Arts Center, Tennessee Theatre, The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, The Morrison Center for the Performing Arts, Tulsa PAC, Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall, and Walton Arts Center.

Participating touring productions include Company, Les Misérables, Life of Pi, The Lion King, MJ the Musical, and Mrs. Doubtfire, with more to come.

“Those of us who work on Touring Broadway know very well that attendance at Broadway shows has a lasting impact on the young people in our local communities,” said Susie Krajsa, President of Broadway Across America and Co-Chair of The Broadway League’s Audience Engagement Committee. “Our missions are often focused on fostering deeper connections to these communities and encouraging young theatregoers to develop into lifelong subscribers, supporters, and patrons of live theatre. Broadway Bridges on the Road is precisely the sort of program that will help us achieve these missions, and I am proud to have been a part of its development.”

Performances will take place during the school year and are open to select high school groups in participating cities. Scheduling and ticketing will be handled by the venue, and participating shows, dates, and times will all vary based on city.

Reach out to your local League Member venue or visit www.broadwaybridges.org/on-the-road for more information or to donate to your local Broadway Bridges on the Road program. Donations to support the New York City program can be made at http://www.broadwaybridges.org/donate.