"Walkin’ Broadway" Audio Tours Begin

“Walkin’ Broadway,” an audio tour of theaters and other historically significant sites in the Times Square area, officially debuts this month. Supplied with an MP3 audio player, tour participants listen to stories from celebrities and music from Broadway shows past and present as they walk from theater to theater.

Heard on the tour are numbers from such musicals as West Side Story, Avenue Q, and Mamma Mia! Also included are stories and anecdotes from the creators of Broadway’s landmark shows. For example, Hal Prince reveals directing choices he made in Sweeney Todd and The Phantom of the Opera; Ossie Davis talks about his role in the civil rights movement as a prominent African-American stage actor; 100-year-old Doris Eaton Travis reminisces about Flo Ziegfeld and the Broadway of 1916; Stephen Schwartz discusses the composition of Wicked; and the daughters of Irving Berlin and Richard Rodgers share stories about their famous fathers. Additionally, tour participants learn about the business of Broadway through remarks from such figures as Gerald Schoenfeld of the Shubert Organization; Tim Tompkins of the Times Square Alliance; Victoria Bailey of the Theater Development Fund; and Nancy Coyne, president of the advertising agency Serino Coyne.

Presented by the Museum of the City of New York, “Walkin’ Broadway” was created by Don Frantz, a theatrical producer and general manager, and Elliott Forrest, host of Breakfast with the Arts on the A&E Network and producer of the nationally syndicated series Biography for Radio. Two tours are offered. The North Tour, which is already up and running, focuses on theaters between 47th and 52nd streets. The South Tour, which will begin on August 1, covers theaters between 42nd and 46th streets.

Tours depart daily between 10am and 2pm from Colony Music at 49th Street and Broadway in the historic Brill Building or by reservation at any time. For information, phone 212-997-5004.