With The Hartman Group Closing, Broadway PR Staffers Start New Firms

Two new Broadway public relations firms created by staffers of the soon-to-shutter Hartman Group will launch Monday, January 6.

Matt Ross Public Relations, an agency that will consist of founder current Hartman publicist Ross and his longtime associate Nicole Capatasto, will bring over their clients Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812, Murder for Two, the upcoming Broadway revival of On the Town, and producers Howard and Janet Kagan’s Maxolev Productions. Past clients of Ross and Capatasto have included 700 Sundays, War Horse, Bring It On, and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.

Meanwhile, Hartman Group publicist Leslie Baden Papa has formed Vivacity Media Group. Her longtime associate Whitney Holden Gore will serve as the firm’s vice president. They will bring over their longtime client Rock of Ages as well as the upcoming off-Broadway production of Heathers: The Musical. Together they have represented Evita and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, among other shows.

As previously announced, The Hartman Group closes its doors today, January 5, as founder Michael Hartman becomes the CEO of the Texas-based chain Amy’s Ice Creams. Hartman Group staffers Tom D’Ambrosio, Wayne Wolfe, Frances White, and Colgan McNeil will join Polk & Co., along with their clients Rocky, Wicked, The Velocity of Autumn, If/Then, and Second Stage Theatre.