Event Is Part of MTA’s ‘Welcome Back New York’ Campaign Touting the Benefits of Public Transportation
Disney Theatrical Productions Partners with MTA to Support Mass Transit as the Best Way to Get to Broadway
Listen to The Lion King Public Service Announcement Playing at Subway Stations
See Photos of Today’s Event
See Video From Today’s Event
Officials from the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) joined cast members from Disney Theatrical Productions’ award-winning musical The Lion King and the head of The Broadway League to encourage New Yorkers to take mass transit to Broadway ahead of the landmark hit show’s reopening Tuesday night.
The Lion King cast members L. Steven Taylor, who plays Mufasa, and Tshidi Manye (SEE-dee MON-yay,) who plays Rafiki, joined MTA Acting Chairman and CEO Janno Lieber, MTA Chief Customer Officer Sarah Meyer, Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin, and Disney Theatrical Productions’ Andrew Flatt outside of the Times Square-42 St subway station in the heart of New York’s Broadway Theater District.
"It is great to see riders returning to mass transit to experience everything New York City has to offer, especially live theater,” Lieber said. “For those who have been looking forward to Broadway performances resuming, we are here to get you to the theater quickly and safely, and our mass transit system is more accessible than ever before. Public transportation is the best way to ensure you don’t miss the opening curtain. And, it costs 10-15% of the price to park your car.”
“Broadway is back, and the MTA is excited and ready to take riders back to the theaters that went dark 18 months ago,” Meyer said. "Public transit is a faster, safer, cheaper and greener way to get around town. We encourage theatergoers to ditch their cars and take the train, subway or bus to return to the city to catch any of the amazing shows reopening on Broadway.”
“We are happy to partner with the MTA on messaging about taking the subway to the theatre district,” St. Martin said. “For as many years as Broadway has been Broadway, they have been a very important partner to our community by delivering our theatregoers safely and on time.”
According to The Broadway League, 62% of New Yorkers arrive at theaters by subway.
A public service announcement from The Lion King welcoming back New York City can now be heard in subway stations. Listen to that announcement here.
Customers have a variety of public transportation options to take them to Broadway shows including Long Island Rail Road, Metro-North Railroad, subways and buses. Anyone traveling into Midtown Manhattan can plan their trip on new.mta.info.
The MTA recently launched the ‘Welcome Back New York’ campaign that touts the benefits of mass transit as New Yorkers begin to return to work and school in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The campaign includes a range of specific initiatives to entice riders to come back to the system, including the extension of discounted fares during off-peak hours until the end of the year and a new goal of doubling the number of New York City residents engaged in the City’s Fair Fares program, which provides discounted MetroCards to customers in need of financial assistance.
Off-peak fares on the Long Island Rail Road and on Metro-North Railroad will be in effect until December 31, 2021. Commuter rail customers using single-ride trips and ten-trip tickets can benefit from savings up to nearly 40% of the normal price depending on distance traveled. In addition, for eleven fall weekends, Sept. 11 – Nov. 21, monthly ticket holders will enjoy Autumn Weekends, which entitles up to four people to ride along for only $1.00 per person. There is also Friends and Family Wednesdays, when monthly ticket holders may bring an extra person to ride for only $1.00, between Sept. 15 and Oct. 27 -- a great deal for those customers looking to catch a Wednesday matinee on Broadway!
About The Lion King:
The Lion King won six 1998 Tony Awards®: Best Musical, Best Scenic Design (Richard Hudson), Best Costume Design (Julie Taymor), Best Lighting Design (Donald Holder), Best Choreography (Garth Fagan) and Best Direction of a Musical. The Lion King has also earned more than 70 major arts awards including the 1998 NY Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical, the 1999 Grammy® for Best Musical Show Album, the 1999 Evening Standard Award for Theatrical Event of the Year and the 1999 Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Choreography and Best Costume Design. The show’s director, costume designer and mask co-designer Julie Taymor continues to play an integral part in the show’s ongoing success. The first woman to win a Tony Award for Direction of a Musical, Taymor continues to supervise new productions of the show around the world. The Broadway score features Elton John and Tim Rice’s songs from the Lion King animated film along with three new songs by John and Rice; additional musical material by South African Lebo M, Mark Mancina, Jay Rifkin, Julie Taymor and Hans Zimmer; and music from "Rhythm of the Pride Lands," an album inspired by the original music in the film, written by Lebo M, Mark Mancina and Hans Zimmer. The resulting sound of The Lion King is a fusion of Western popular music and the distinctive sounds and rhythms of Africa, ranging from the Academy Award®-winning song “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” to Lebo M’s rich choral numbers. The book has been adapted by Roger Allers, who co-directed the animated The Lion King feature, and Irene Mecchi, who co-wrote the film’s screenplay. Other members of the creative team include: Michael Curry, who designed the masks and puppets with Taymor, Steve Canyon Kennedy (sound design), Michael Ward (hair and makeup design), John Stefaniuk (associate director), Marey Griffith (associate choreographer), Clement Ishmael (music supervisor) and Doc Zorthian (production supervisor). Anne Quart serves as co-producer. For more information, visit www.lionking.com
About The Broadway League:
The Broadway League is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. Its 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers in North American cities, as well as suppliers of goods and services to the commercial theatre industry. Each year, League members bring Broadway to more than 30 million people in New York and more than 200 cities across the U.S. and Canada. For more information, visit www.broadwayleague.com.