On the morning of Aug. 13, New York City Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani took the main stage at New York City Center for an announcement tied to arts accessibility. The mayor took his place onstage following a performance by Tony Award nominee Sam Tutty of the song “New York” from the Tony-nominated musical “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” with a choir of NYC high schoolers. City Center president and CEO Michael Rosenberg then introduced the mayor.
“Good morning, everyone,” the mayor began. “Or, should I say, ‘Oh, what a beautiful morning’?” — quoting the classic musical “Oklahoma!” Mamdani noted that he played the leading role of Curly in his eighth-grade production, speaking to a room that included city leadership like Cultural Affairs Commissioner Diya Vij and Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment Commissioner Rafael Espinal, artists like Manhattan Theatre Club executive director Chris Jennings, playwright Jocelyn Bioh and actor-director Steven Pasquale as well as a press corps with members from theater outlets and daily news publications.
Continuing with business, the mayor announced, “Beginning today, City Hall, in partnership with the Theatre Development Fund (TDF), is opening a lottery of more than 2,000 free tickets for high schoolers to seven marquee Broadway shows right here in New York, New York.” The list technically includes six Broadway shows and a musical production at City Center.
The Broadway shows participating in the ticket lottery are “Buena Vista Social Club,” the upcoming “School Girls; Or, the African Mean Girls Play,” “Stranger Things: The First Shadow,” “The Lost Boys,” “The Great Gatsby,” “Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)” and City Center’s upcoming gala presentation of “In the Heights.” Tickets were provided to TDF by the individual productions.
“This is justice for the theater kids who have watched City Hall roll out lotteries for major sporting events all summer long and asked, ‘Why not me?’” the mayor continued. “If you are a high-school student anywhere across the five boroughs, you are eligible to enter this lottery.” The lottery is now open and will close on Aug. 17 at 10 a.m. ET. All NYC high school students, grades nine through 12, are eligible to enter. Winners will be able to reserve up to two tickets. All entrants to the lottery, whether or not they win a pair of the 2,100 tickets, will receive a free two-month membership to TDF. While the lottery will close in August, free two-month memberships will remain available through Sept. 13.
A membership provides the opportunity to purchase low-cost tickets to performing arts events, including Broadway shows. The membership will also include free or low-cost access to 24 New York City cultural institutions, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, New York City Center, Pregones/Puerto Rican Traveling Theater and the Public Theater as well as places like Carnegie Hall, the American Museum of Natural History and the New York Botanical Garden. A full list of organizations can be found here.
“There are so many kids growing up in our city for whom Broadway feels as if it is a world away, like something that only belongs to other people,” Mamdani said from the City Center stage.
