Show-Score Boards Harvard Business School Startup Studio

Show-Score.com, a new website for audiences to discover live theater in New York City, has been chosen as one of the launch teams of Harvard Business School's Startup Studio, the first off-campus hub for HBS alumni starting new ventures in NYC.

Like Rotten Tomatoes does for movies, Show-Score simplifies the process of helping theater audiences decide what to see, and allows them to post their own capsule reviews of shows. It is an independent website that does not review shows nor sell tickets. Rather, Show-Score simply and cleanly organizes information about all theater productions from Broadway to Off-Off-Broadway. It lists all available ticket prices, comparing box office prices and major publicly listed online discounts. And it collates all professional reviews for each production, all in one place.

Show-Score launched on September 15, 2015 and has exceeded all growth projections. The website's fast-growing member base, currently numbering 30,000 in just four months, has contributed 34,000 reviews of shows from Broadway to Off-Off Broadway. Show-Score has been featured in The New York Times, The Associated Press, and Backstage. A Sandy Kenyon segment on ABC7 played on 6,000 taxi TVs across New York over the holidays.

"We've been so thrilled by the response to Show-Score from the theater community," says founder and CEO Tom Melcher. "Fans, producers, and theater companies have all welcomed us, energized by the possibilities for audience engagement when tech meets the arts. Now, Harvard Business School's Startup Studio has recognized our potential to marry these two arenas to better serve New York's theater-going audience. It is particularly meaningful for me to be selected since I studied entrepreneurship as a student at HBS. I've helped build 10 internet businesses over the past 23 years, so I'm delighted by the school's strong commitment to helping startups succeed."

"Show-Score was chosen from a selective group of applicants, and joins a class of nine startups representing a cross-section of industries, from consumer products and healthcare to financial technology," says Avani Patel, the newly appointed director of the Startup Studio. "Show-Score is a great example of the next generation for three important New York industries: theater, media, and internet technology. This, together with Tom's experience in entrepreneurship, his passion for theater, and the remarkable growth of the company makes Show-Score a very exciting addition to our inaugural class."

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