BROADWAY MUSICALS CAPTURED LIVE-IN-PERFORMANCE
IN HIGH DEFINITION & 5.1 SURROUND SOUND FOR WORLDWIDE DISTRIBUTION:
Digital Cinema – Blu-Ray & DVD – Streaming – Cable, Pay and Broadcast Television – Theme Parks – Cruises & Airlines – All Onscreen Distribution Platforms To Follow
Broadway Worldwide, Inc (BWI) is the first-to-market leader in the production and worldwide distribution of Direct From Broadway® musicals on screen. Our business is very much like that of a Hollywood studio but with a specific concentration on currently running Broadway musicals which we distribute via every current exhibition format, beginning with digital cinema. BWI’s strategy of presenting only audience-proven material and acquiring all cinema, digital and television distribution rights makes its risk-reward profile unique in the media and entertainment business.
PRODUCTION
BWI’s mission is to capture, as closely as possible, each show as it is regularly performed on Broadway. In that regard, we are the leading practitioner of recording Broadway musicals, live-in-performance in front of paying audiences, on the Broadway stage during a show’s New York run, thereby providing a real Broadway experience on screen.
To ensure the highest quality standard, only proven state-of-the-art high definition and 5.1 surround sound technology is used, along with a creative team comprised of Emmy®, Tony® and Grammy® winning professionals.
DISTRIBUTION BEGINS IN DIGITAL CINEMAS
High-end digital cinema installations in the US alone number some 30,000 screens in more than 2,300 venues, with distribution costs very low relative to industry standards and potential return. BWI’s productions have been exhibited in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Columbia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Central America, the Caribbean, Great Britain, France, Germany, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Austria, Sweden, Ireland, Finland, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Korea, and China on screens controlled by every major cinema circuit including Regal, AMC, National Amusements, Cinemark, Rave, Marcus, Clearview, General Cinema, Harkins, Odeon, UCI, Apollo, Cineworld, Vue, Kinepolis, Sterkinekor, Cinemex, Hoyts, and Foklets Hus Parker.
REACHING BEYOND LIVE THEATER AUDIENCES
The key impediments to more people being able to enjoy the experience of a Broadway show are price and proximity.
In the 2013-14 Broadway season, the average ticket price for a show on the Great White Way passed the $100 mark for the first time, a price point that is hard to reach for many. Touring productions are generally more affordable, but the average ticket price in larger markets has been $60 for the past couple of years.
Most successful Broadway shows do tour extensively, but there is certainly an audience that lives outside of the range of major market cities which host first-class national tours, and are not able to travel to New York or another large city to take part in high-quality theatrical entertainment. Even those theatre fans who do get to New York are limited by constraints imposed by the size of Broadway theatres. With 1,470 seats in the average Broadway venue, even a sold out show can host only 611,520 patrons in a year
Digital cinema and other media can reach a far greater audience.
ADVANTAGES FOR THE BROADWAY COMMUNITY
For Broadway show producers seeking additional revenue streams and brand extension for their products, Broadway Worldwide provides a means for them to transport the thrill and excitement of their hit shows – just as they are presented live on the Broadway stage – to audiences worldwide who otherwise might not be able to attend.
With our productions to date, the Broadway community has shown it is ready for audio-visual distribution of its product and supports the audience development and marketing advantages the company offers their live productions. Among these benefits are:
• Revenue from the HD recording and subsequent DVD/Blu-ray sales in the theatre
• No financial risk to the stage show’s producers or investors
• Extending the Broadway show’s brand nationwide, including advertising and promotion for a show that might still be running on Broadway and/or on tour.
• Impeccable quality electronic preservation of the show as it appeared on Broadway
BROADWAY WORLDWIDE – CONSUMER RESPONSE AND…THE NUMBERS
More than 1,800 Direct From Broadway® consumers were surveyed at US and UK cinema exhibitions and
• 97% rated their experience as Good or Excellent
• 91% rated it as a good value for their money (average tkt price $20)
• 88% said they would like to see the live stage production of the title they saw onscreen
Two of the most frequently heard comments in interviews conducted by independent research firm Core Insights captured the essence of the audience’s reaction to Memphis:
“I don’t know how it could have been any better”
“In the movie theater, I felt like I had the best seat in the house”
AMC’s consumer research of almost 6,000 movie goers indicated Broadway musicals were the second most desired product people want to see at their local digital cinema. Broadway finished behind concerts but ahead of college and professional sports and the Academy Awards.
Memphis in the US and Canada grossed in the low 7 figures and was seen by 77,000 people. Sell-outs occurred at multiple locations yet only $100,000 was spent on national marketing. Jekyll & Hyde’s average 62% occupancy at six domestic Saturday 7:00 PM exhibitions compares favorably to the average movie theater attendance. The difference is Jekyll & Hyde had a $20 ticket price making more money for the exhibitor than a movie. Putting It Together was the 1st (twice) and 8th highest grossing screen per day at Regal’s Denver Pavilions 17 screen multiplex over a 3 day/4 exhibition run. Competing titles included Zoolander, Rush Hour, Training Day and Serendipity – each with 12-15 exhibitions over the same period.
THE TEAM
Bruce M. Brandwen, CEO & Executive Producer
Mr. Brandwen has worked in television for 40 years as a creator and producer of programming as well as in strategic planning and business development including Time Warner Qube’s two-way interactive and pay per view cable project. Mr. Brandwen created Broadway Worldwide as a media company dedicated to the production and distribution of first-run Broadway musicals for initial worldwide release on digital cinema screens in high definition and 5.1 surround sound.
At Broadway Worldwide he oversaw the capture of: Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, the first Broadway show ever recorded in high definition and 5.1 surround sound; Jekyll & Hyde The Musical, the first non-film program exhibited on domestic digital cinema screens; Putting It Together a musical review, the first digital cinema non film program exhibited in Europe; and Memphis, the historic first Tony® winning Best Musical to be captured and exhibited while still the reigning Tony® winner. Memphis has appeared on over 3,000 digital movie screens worldwide, on Netflix, on PBS’ Great Performances where it won a Primetime Emmy®, on NHK’s HD channels in Japan, and on multiple TV platforms worldwide.
Prior to starting Broadway Worldwide, Mr. Brandwen served as Executive Producer of: Tintypes starring Jerry Zaks and the original Broadway cast; Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies, the first Broadway show to be telecast live during its initial Broadway run; The Old Farmer’s Video Almanac starring Jonathan Winters and Willard Scott; and Remember When starring John Byner, Marilyn Michaels and Henny Youngman. He also produced Countdown, Ohio State Football, and The Winning Touch utilizing Qube’s 2-way interactive technology, three Frank Sinatra specials as separate feeds into the Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon, Sale of the Century, and Smart Money.
Mr. Brandwen also founded and organized the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Foundation in 1982 with recording artist Leslie Gore eventually turning the operation over to Ahmet Ertegun, Seymour Stein and the major record company CEOs.
Don Roy King, Director
With a resume that includes 8 Emmy® Awards and productions for nine networks that range from documentaries to musicals, Don Roy King is one of the most versatile and experienced directors in the television industry today. He has directed more live network television than any director in the history of the medium and his network assignments have taken him to twenty countries and thirty-eight states.
In directing twelve seasons of NBC’s Saturday Night Live, Mr. King has earned eleven Primetime Emmys® including one for directing the SNL 40th Anniversary Special. He has been nominated for fourteen Prime Time Emmys® and eleven DGA Awards.
As the creative director for Broadway Worldwide, Mr. King directed the 2010 Tony-winning musical, Memphis (2012 Primetime Emmy® for Technical Direction); Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, Putting It Together a musical review, with Carol Burnett; and Jekyll & Hyde The Musical. He also directed a big-screen taping of Romeo and Juliet with Orlando Bloom in 2013; and the play, Honky, at San Diego Rep in 2014 — a pilot for the PBS series, On Stage America.
Nick van Hoogstraten, VP Production & Development
Mr. van Hoogstraten was part of the pioneering Broadway Worldwide team dedicated to bringing stage musicals content to digital cinema screens around the world. He produced Memphis (2012 Primetime Emmy® winner), Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, Putting It Together a musical review, and Jekyll & Hyde The Musical. He has received an Emmy Award®, multiple 2011 daytime Emmy® nominations and, for off-Broadway’s Johnny Guitar (producer, writer), Drama Desk nominations and the Outer Critics Award for Best Musical.
Karen Vock, VP Distribution & Marketing
Ms. Vock has had a successful and varied career in Broadway entertainment encompassing more decades than she cares to admit: touring Broadway presenter of five Florida markets, press agent for two national tours, director of membership for The Broadway League and member of the pioneering Broadway Worldwide team, amongst other adventures. She enthusiastically crusades to make more Direct From Broadway® presentations available on screen for Broadway-hungry audiences across the land.
Matt Kaplowitz, Sound Producer/Music Director
Mr. Kaplowitz is Creative Director of Onomatopoeia and a production and post mixer and sound designer, composer/arranger, with emphasis on 5.1 surround mixing, digital cinema, and high-end sound for interactive TV.
As sound producer/music director for Broadway Worldwide, he developed Broadway Surround, a sound-mixing format designed to bring the live listening experience to the 5.1 surround-sound home theater environment. Working with Texas Instruments, Boeing Technologies, Dolby Labs, he is a leader in the development of sound design for the emerging digital cinema technologies. Matt is also the co-author of How to Talk to Your Kids About School Violence.
Awards include a Grammy® for producing the soundtrack version of Ghandi with Ravi Shankar, an Emmy® for the PBS special To Bear Witness, a 2001 Emmy® nomination for Literacy Partners featuring Diane Sawyer, the 2001 New York Int’l. Film & TV Festival silver medal for television sound design for mixing Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, Peabody and Cable Ace awards for HBO’s Braingames, a Cable Ace for Nickelodeon’s Eureeka’s Castle, and numerous Clio, Monitor, Action For Children’s Television, Cindy, Chicago & Houston Film Festivals, Questar, Intercom, and NY International Film & TV Festival awards for composition, sound mixing, and sound design.
Lesley Nathan, Producer and VP Production Operations
Ms. Nathan is an Emmy® recognized creative and dynamic professional with in-depth production management and consulting experience. She has been an integral part and senior staff member for many large worldwide events, including presidential forums, major news events, sports and large entertainment programs. Ms. Nathan supervised the team on the NBC ratings blockbuster The Sound of Music live and Sondheim! The Birthday Gala live from Avery Fisher Hall for PBS Great Performances, in addition to Broadway Worldwide’s Memphis (2012 Primetime Emmy® winner), Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, Putting It Together a musical review and Jekyll & Hyde The Musical. She is well versed in the medium of digital cinema and has an abundant knowledge in both studio and location production. Most recently Ms. Nathan became a guest lecturer and dedicated mentor at The College of Southern Maryland.
Alan Adelman, Lighting Designer
Mr. Adelman is a three time Emmy® Award-winning lighting designer committed to the efforts of theater artists, producers and archivists to translate existing stage works, as well as create new productions, specifically for television and film. Credits include over 75 shows spanning a 25 year history with PBS’ Great Performances including Dance in America and American Playhouse productions showcasing work by the most recognized playwrights, directors, choreographers and musical icons of our time.
He is the resident lighting designer/consultant for the Live from Lincoln Center series (over 50 shows) as well as designer for the Direct From Broadway® productions of Memphis, Smokey Joe’s Café: The Songs of Leiber and Stoller, Putting It Together a musical review, and Jekyll & Hyde The Musical. Feature film credits include Brian DePalma’s Carlito’s Way, George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker (with New York City Ballet), Elmo In Grouchland and documentaries on Alvin Ailey and The Philadelphia Orchestra. Other lighting design work includes special events with artists as diverse as Paul McCartney, The New York Philharmonic, P.Diddy, Reba McEntire, Eminem, The Rolling Stones, JayZ, Cirque du Soleil, Sting, Renee Fleming, San Francisco Symphony, Audra McDonald, The Boston Pops and multiple projects with Wynton Marsalis including the Peabody Award winning “Marsalis On Music” series from Tanglewood.
