Broadway Gives Back

Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome back to the Broadway Gives Back Podcast Season 2! Joel Grey is best known for his immortal portrayal of the Emcee in CABARET, which won him the Tony and an Academy Award. But Joel has had a distinguished career for nearly 70 years—GEORGE M!, CHICAGO, WICKED, ANYTHING GOES, and so many more. He co-directed the Tony Award-winning revival of THE NORMAL HEART and recentl...

Season 1 of Broadway Gives Back featured some of the brightest lights of Broadway in front of the footlights and backstage sharing their very personal journeys of doing good. For this special bonus episode, join Executive Producer Jan Svendsen, co-producer Jim Lochner, Broadway Podcast Network co-founder Dori Berinstein, our amazing sound engineer Brittany Bigelow, and special guest Emmy Award-win...

From standup comedy to movies, TV, and Broadway, Rosie O’Donnell has done it all. She has been a 3-time host of The Tony Awards, winning a Primetime Emmy as host of the 1998 Tonys, and she has been a tireless supporter of Broadway during the six years she hosted her daytime talk show, The Rosie O’Donnell Show (for which she won an astonishing 11 Daytime Emmys), as well as during her tenure on The...

New 42 is a leading nonprofit with a mission to make performing arts a vital part of everyone’s life from the earliest years onward. Through their signature projects—the New Victory Theater and New 42 Studios—New 42 serves artists, educators, and New Yorkers of all ages with invaluable arts engagement and resources related to the performing arts. Join New 42’s President & CEO Russell Granet and it...

From Breaking Bad, The Boys, and her iconic performance as Susan, the lesbian lover to Ross’s ex-wife on Friends to recent hits like The Sinner and Special, Jessica Hecht has been a familiar and welcome presence on film, television, and stage for nearly 30 years. She also lends her voice and talent to raising money for a number of important causes. Join Jessica for an inspiring discussion on bring...

Over the last few months, dozens of Broadway luminaries have shared stories about their careers, their views on doing good, and their hopes and dreams for a better Broadway when it reopens this fall. During the shutdown, the theater industry came under much-needed scrutiny for many of its long-established practices onstage and off. While the excitement is palpable as Broadway shows roll out their...

Doing good—and doing it well—requires out-of-the-box thinking. And few people demonstrate that type of thinking more than today’s guest. As the President of Propper Daley, Greg Propper spends his days helping brands, nonprofits, and philanthropists accelerate positive change in the world. He’s worked with some of the biggest names in film, television, music, and Broadway—Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga,...

Broadway fans around the world rely on BroadwayWorld.com to stay up to date on the latest news and to connect to the theater community. Founded in 2003, Broadway World is the largest theater website in the world, covering everything behind the curtain and in front of the footlights as well as being mindful of its corporate social responsibility mission and supporting charitable initiatives. Join B...

From the Super Bowl to Broadway’s biggest hits, Damian Bazadona has led digital marketing efforts for some of the world’s leading brands. He’s the founder of the digital advertising agency Situation, a speaker, the co-creator of TedXBroadway, a thought leader, and a philanthropist. Damian has been working with stakeholders on Broadway, in the entertainment world, and with charities to help navigat...

In 2005, John Lloyd Young took Broadway by storm with his portrayal of Frankie Valli in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical JERSEY BOYS. He won the Tony Award, a Drama Desk, a Theatre World Award, and a Grammy for his memorable performance as well as starring in Clint Eastwood’s 2014 film version. Throughout his career, he has used his voice and his talent to support a number of important causes o...

Talk to anybody in the entertainment industry—not just Broadway!—and they’ll sing the praises of The Actors Fund, which provides a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals. The Fund serves everyone in film, theater, television, music, opera, radio, and dance, with programs including social services, emergency financial assistance, health care, housing, and more. Join The Acto...

From HAIR and A CHORUS LINE to HAMILTON and many more, for over 65 years The Public Theater has shaped the stories of tomorrow. The Public by the numbers... Founded in 1954 by Joseph Papp as one of the nation’s first nonprofit theaters, The Public has received 59 Tony Awards, 184 Obie Awards, 55 Drama Desk Awards, 58 Lortel Awards, 34 Outer Critic Circle Awards, 13 New York Drama Critics’ Circle A...

Before HAMILTON, before IN THE HEIGHTS, there was FREESTYLE LOVE SUPREME! From their hit 2019 Broadway show to a GRAMMY-nominated documentary, this amazing hip-hop improv squad not only delights audiences with their talented tongues and clever wordplay, they’re training freestyle rap artists of all ages. Join FLS crew members Anthony “Two-Touch” Veneziale, Chris “Shockwave” Sullivan, Aneesa “Young...

To music fans around the world, Josh Groban is a four-time GRAMMY-nominated singer who has sold over 22.5 MILLION records in the US alone. But for Broadway fans, he’ll forever be the star of the hit musical NATASHA, PIERRE & THE GREAT COMET OF 1812. As the founder of the Find Your Light Foundation, Josh uses his voice and talent to support a number of causes, especially arts education. Join Josh f...

Sara Bareilles is not only a GRAMMY Award-winning recording artist, she’s also the creator of the hit Apple TV drama LITTLE VOICE, the composer of the hit Broadway musical WAITRESS, an actor, and an activist. But even with the many demands on her creative life, she gives so much of her time and her talent to help those in need. Join Sara for a passionate discussion on music, women in the arts, and...

As the Editor-in-Chief of Town & Country and the Editorial Director of Elle Decor, as well as the author of two best-selling books, Stellene Volandes is the epitome of style. But she is also at the heart of the annual Town & Country Philanthropy Summit and the magazine’s summer issue devoted to philanthropy, which have featured stage luminaries like Lin-Manuel Miranda, Bradley Cooper, Glenn Close,...

What do Pixar, George Clooney, and Larry David all have in common? They’re all smart producers that hired the amazing talents of actor Richard Kind. A familiar face on Broadway, TV, and film—from CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM and the Oscar-winning film ARGO to his hilarious and heartbreaking performance as Bing Bong in Pixar’s INSIDE OUT—join the Drama Desk winner and Tony Award nominee for a serious discu...

From Nina in In the Heights , Angelica in Hamilton, Elphaba in Wicked, Amneris in Aida, and many more, Mandy Gonzalez has carved out her own unique niche on Broadway and in music, TV, and film. She’s as passionate onstage as she is off, lending her vocal talents, time, and energy in support of a number of important causes. Join this triple threat as she talks about surviving breast cancer, her mul...

From her Tony Award-winning turn in JELLY’S LAST JAM to her immortal performance in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE, in TV and film, in front of and behind the camera, Tonya Pinkins is an actress, a writer, producer, director, and a fierce, outspoken activist and advocate for so many important causes. With her new film, RED PILL, premiering this month, join the Tony Award winner for a thought-provoking discus...

Twenty-five years ago, Rent changed Broadway and pop culture. Jonathan Larson’s landmark musical began life at New York Theatre Workshop in 1993 and later went on to sweep the 1996 Tony Awards and win a Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Join original cast member Adam Pascal, New York Theatre Workshop Artistic Director James Nicola, and director Andy Señor Jr. for a look back at this groundbreaking show.  ...

For over 25 years, Michael McElroy has used his voice to spark positive change. From Broadway to Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and more, Michael is the Founder, Musical Director, and Arranger for Broadway Inspirational Voices, a multi-racial GRAMMY-nominated gospel choir composed of Broadway performers that provides hope, inspires, and transforms at-risk youth through music and the arts. Join...

When To Kill a Mockingbird opened on Broadway, all eyes were on Celia Keenan-Bolger and Gideon Glick. Their immortal performances as Scout and Dill scored a Tony Award for Celia and a Tony nomination for Gideon. But when Broadway shut down last March, these fast friends did what so many in the theater industry did—turned their sights to helping others. Join us for an impassioned discussion on feed...

In 2008, Broadway finally went green. Since then, the Broadway Green Alliance has worked tirelessly to educate, motivate, and inspire the entire theater community and its patrons to implement environmentally friendlier practices on Broadway and beyond. Join Broadway Green Alliance Founder and Co-Chair Susan Sampliner, Director Molly Braverman, and former “Green Captain” (and recent Tony Award nomi...

From the Biden-Harris Inaugural Concert to their wildly popular “Stars in the House” live-stream concert series, Seth Rudetsky and James Wesley have not only brought hope and entertainment to Broadway fans around the world during the pandemic, they’ve raised awareness and hundreds of thousands of dollars for The Actors Fund and other notable organizations. Join these two Broadway icons as they dis...

At the center of charitable giving and human transformation is Dan Pallotta. A controversial activist and fundraiser, Dan is the founder of Pallotta TeamWorks, which invented the multi-day AIDS Rides and Breast Cancer 3-Days; the president of Advertising for Humanity; and the author of three best-selling books. His 2013 Ted Talk, “The Way We Think About Charity Is Dead Wrong,” has been viewed more...