Variety's Business of Broadway Breakfast, presented by City National Bank, celebrates the upcoming season of Broadway with conversations from cast members and directors of “Sunset Boulevard,” “Yellow Face,” and “Our Town.”
Category
✨
PeopleTranscript
00:00Thank you Ramin for that kind introduction and for that wonderful reel and thank you to everyone,
00:06I'm a little shorter, at Variety and our city national team who have worked so hard to make
00:11this event possible. I am thrilled to see so many old and new friends here at the start of the
00:17season, especially on a Monday morning and I understand this is early for all of you.
00:23But although I spend most of my time on both coasts now, I'm a native New Yorker and Broadway
00:30has been near and dear to me both personally and professionally throughout my life.
00:35This year marks City National's 70th anniversary and for much of that time we have worked alongside
00:43the Broadway community. We're very proud to have earned the nickname the Bank to Broadway
00:49and it is my intention to never give up that name. So in addition to hosting this breakfast for the
00:55past seven years, we've been a decade-long sponsor of the Tony Awards, being supporters
01:01of Broadway Cares and the Entertainment Community Fund and most importantly we've maintained a
01:06steadfast commitment to serving the needs of our clients through all the ups and downs of
01:12the industry. City National's here for you and the Broadway community and we understand your needs
01:19and we're very thankful for your business. And with the support of our parent company,
01:23Royal Bank of Canada, which is the fifth largest bank in North America, we're able to deliver the
01:29personalized service that you expect with the scale and the stability that comes with the Global Bank.
01:36So through the calm and very deliberate, amazing leadership of our Broadway team,
01:41Eric Paikuch, who's here, Rita Marie Pelosi, they're all here, Michelle Gibbons, Roberto,
01:47Larry Yocum, who many of you know, City National has become the proud banking partner behind
01:57over 70 percent of the shows currently on Broadway, which is pretty good stat, right?
02:04Thank you. And make no mistake, this city we all love depends on the success of Broadway
02:12and many of the people in this room. Broadway contributes more than 14 billion dollars to the
02:18economy of New York City and supports around 100,000 local jobs. Broadway continues to be
02:25one of the leader drivers of tourism and I understand we're doing very well on that
02:29on that score this year, often bringing repeat customers back to the theater.
02:34The 2023-24 theater season we saw 12.3 million in total attendance, indicating approximately 90
02:43percent of all the available seats were filled and that compares to last year's 88 percent.
02:49This season I'm optimistic we'll see that the numbers grow again. It is a testament to our
02:54unique understanding of the Broadway community that we're able to call many of you clients and
02:59friends. As the bank to Broadway, we work hard behind the scenes so our clients, all of you,
03:06can continue to do what you do best, create great arts for millions to enjoy. So we're really lucky
03:13this morning to be joined by our co-host Cole Haskola of Oh Mary, as well as conversations
03:19with cast members, directors of Sunset Boulevard, Yellow Face, Maybe Happy Ending, Gypsy, Our Town,
03:25and many more.
03:29you