New 42: Let’s Get This Show on the Street
New 42 rang in the start of Summer with one of the first live events to be held in New York City since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
Let’s Get this Show on the Street, a once-in-a-lifetime event, celebrated the re-opening of the vital cultural community in the heart of Times Square and the importance of arts education to change lives.
New 42 partnered with Empire to produce a socially distanced, public-facing concert, which was attended in-person by teachers and arts educators from all five NYC boroughs. In addition to the in-person event, Empire also produced a fully livestreamed program for the New 42 virtual audience. Working in tandem with the City of New York, New 42 and Empire were able to close 42nd Street between 7th and 8th avenues to bring the event to life.
The program featured performances by Sara Bareilles, Freestyle Love Supreme Academy, Dance Theater of Harlem, Chop & Quench featuring Sahr Ngaujak, Bill Irwin, the Celia Cruz Bronx High School of Music, the Brooklyn United Marching Band and DJ Duane Harriott, with video testimonials to arts education by John Leguizamo, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Kal Penn, Alison Pill, Michael James Scott, and Andrew Thomas and Lorenzo Carter from the NY Giants.
New 42 President and CEO Russell Granet and New 42 Board Chairman, Fiona Rudin, kicked off the program cheering the return of in-person theater and performances. The event honored the NYC Department of Education, with an award being accepted by Meisha Porter, the Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education. Introducing Meisha was one of Broadway’s brightest stars, Brian Stokes Mitchell.
The event also honored Jody Arnhold with the Marian Heiskell Award. Paying tribute to Jody Arnhold were Ballet legend Misty Copeland (virtual) and dance teacher DeAngelo Blanchard. The program also included a visit by Mayor Bill de Blasio, who spoke to the tremendous work that all of NYC’s teachers and arts educators have done throughout the pandemic as well as welcoming back in-person arts and entertainment to NYC!
Empire’s role included managing all technical production (staging, rigging, audio, video, livestream), permitting, layouts, scripting, talent booking & management, stage and production management, website development as well as developing and managing a thorough on-site covid safety plan for all staff, crew, talent and guests. Empire also worked with New 42 to create a safe and efficient on-site guest experience for registration and social distancing.
Empire is a leading producer of major civic and municipal events and is proud to work with organizations like the New 42 and Times Square Alliance to bring back live, in-person events.
Guests received their first taste of technological innovation at registration, where they were welcomed by name on a reactive LED screen installation covering the full width of the entry wall. A large lunch café was created with a décor scheme that incorporated custom-built, ceiling-high steel LED frames draped with foliage to create smaller, intimate restaurant-style spaces that displayed both technology and nature.
A series of breakout sessions presented content targeted to attendees’ varied interests, while imagery displayed throughout the venue showcased real-life applications of how products designed to empower developers help to unleash the power of data and reimagine possibilities that will improve our world.
Every element of Microsoft Connect(); from registration, breakfast and keynote, to lunch and evening cocktails, were custom-designed to communicate exacting brand messaging and to deliver a high-touch guest experience to this important audience. The keynote and breakout sessions were livestreamed through an onsite studio built for this purpose and content was watched online by millions around the world.
Empire is proud to collaborate with Microsoft on this annual, top-tier business communication event.
To view excerpts of Connect(); 2017, please visit https://www.microsoft.com/connectevent
