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Video: Broadway Comes Out to Celebrate 50 Years of TKTS
May 17, 2024
TKTS, which revolutionized same-day discount theatre tickets for Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, marked 50 years in Times Square with a special celebration in front of the red steps. IN this video, watch as Broadway comes out to celebrate!
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0:00
Hello, I'm Richard Ridge for Broadway World. We're in Duffy Square to celebrate
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the 50th anniversary of TDF's iconic TKTS ticket booth. ["Ticket Booth"] ["Ticket Booth"
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How excited are you to be here today? You know, I'm really, really excited. You know, my start was in theater
0:36
so to be able to be a part of this event, you know, when the very first ticket
0:42
Broadway show that I saw, I got at the ticket booth. It was
0:46
Ain't Misbehavin'. And so, you know, this is sort of full circle for me
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I get a little verklempt when I think of it, because I just remember how it
0:57
changed my life. And you know what I'm talking about. So that this line is tripled and doubled is just a reason why something like
1:11
the Theater Development Fund is important. People want that experience. And there's just nothing like it. You know, I keep saying that, but it's the truth
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And that's why no matter what time of the year, you will always see these lines
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So millions, millions of people have had this experience because prices of tickets
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are going up every year. And this is an absolute perfect way for people to not
1:42
only come, but bring their families, to be able to afford to bring their children
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future actors and designers and singers and dancers. When I got to New York with my family, we had our, I just had started learning
1:57
about theater. And we bought tickets to one show because it was so expensive
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And we got here, went to TKTS, suddenly we have five new shows to add on
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The very first theater I walked into was the Marquis Theater, where ten years
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later I made my own Broadway debut. So TKTS literally gave me this amazing
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gift that came back into a career. To me, the reason for the survival of theater is accessibility
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We have to put it out there so anyone can come and enjoy theater. And TKTS has made that their core value from the beginning
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And I think that's the most valuable resource we have. So, 50 years of that, I'm ready to celebrate
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I think what this number signifies is the ever-present power of Broadway
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in New York City. I mean, Broadway's part of New York. And Broadway is a huge thing that people think of, whether they live here
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whether they visit. And the fact that it's here and that it's still so popular
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means that the demand is ongoing. It means that there are folks who need
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access to affordable tickets. It means that there are productions that need the help in terms of reaching people who want to come
3:01
And so, it just says we're still here and we're always here
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Now, therefore, I, Eric Adams, Mayor of the City of New York
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do hereby proclaim Wednesday, June 28, 2023, in the City of New York
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as TKTS by TDF Day! Come on along and listen to the lullaby and all that jazz
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The hi-dee-hi and the hoo-dee-doo. The lullaby and all that jazz. You ought to buy your merry pound and sleep all day
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It's today, goodnight. And when we're towards tomorrow
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We did what we had to do. Won't forget, can't forget what I did for you
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All day long
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