Entertainment, arts, food and culture will be on display as Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway celebrates 8th anniversary with eclectic festival centered around historic DTLA Broadway. 

Night on Broadway is back for 2016! Less than 50 days remain until the January 30th celebration of the 8th anniversary of Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar's Bringing Back Broadway initiative, a 10-year plan for the revitalization of the Historic Broadway corridor.

This one-night extravaganza in Downtown Los Angeles takes place on Saturday January 30 from 5 p.m. to 11p.m. and will feature programming on the historic stages of glorious theaters often closed to the public, as well as a large street festival with an outdoor stage of its own. Talent for the outdoor stage will be announced in the coming days. See below for a list of entertainment options at seven of Broadway’s historic theaters.

Internationally renowned artists, acrobats, performers, musicians, and other acts will fill the storied Broadway corridor with art, entertainment, food and music, with a special focus on Broadway as the heart of Downtown Los Angeles. Interior rooms will be filled by immersive art installations, films screenings, and a special presentation of Los Angeles based fashion brands. 

With last year’s inaugural Night on Broadway drawing more than 35,000, #NightOnBroadway 2016 promises to be an even bigger success.

“People from all over our great City told us Night on Broadway 2015 made them proud to be Angelenos,” said Councilmember José Huizar. “I’m looking forward to once again seeing the faces of people who have never been inside our Broadway theaters – with all their grandeur and beauty. You are literally stepping into history and to have those theaters activated is a special and unique experience and an important part of the work we are doing through our Bringing Back Broadway initiative.

Night on Broadway 2016 will offer something for everyone – young and old – and we invite all Angelenos to come and enjoy a one-of-a kind experience on a treasured and historic street.”

Acts include The Lucent Dossier Experience; Zen Arts; The Clouds Below; Rebel Bingo; OWSLA recording artists; Brendon Small; Reggie Watts; Scott Hove and dozens more.

The Million Dollar Theatre (1918) will feature “The Million Dollar Cabaret” directed by Arya Davachi, featuring burlesque dancers, flappers, and swing bands including Phat Cat Swinger,Lost Angels DTLA, Sydney Sainté, Miss Tosh, Victoria Lane, and, returning from last year, Burgundy Bells.

The Lucent Dossier Experience will capture audiences at the Los Angeles Theatre (1931.)  Their other-worldly performance art features theatrical dance, unique aerial arts, and ancient futuristic creatures - a transformative experience where brilliance and insanity fuse together.  

New American Filmmakers Los Angeles will program a festival of 2 to 3 minutes films about Los Angeles in another area of the expansive venue, while sculptor / installation artist Scott Hove, known for his work with Banksy on Dismaland, will stage an exhibit in the dramatic L.A. Theatre ballroom.  

The Clouds Below will light up the Palace Theatre (1911) stage, while the renowned sci-fi photo and light exhibit Invasion will enrapture audiences downstairs. 

DTLA’s Think Tank Gallery will curate activities at two of Broadway’s gems: international sensation Rebel Bingo will make its Broadway debut at the Globe Theatre (1912) with a modern, emotional, and exciting twist on an old-fashioned prize-centered game. Cutting edge comedy, social commentary and music will command the stage at the Tower Theatre (1927) with notable performers Reggie Watts and Brendan Small. 

The Orpheum Theatre (1926) will feature ZenArts’ “The Last Night” with dozens of artists in a cirque bizarre performance created especially for Night on Broadway.

The Theatre at Ace Hotel (aka United Artist Theatre, 1927) will be curated by fashion, music and lifestyle brand The Well, featuring: artists from Mad Decent, an L.A. record label founded by Diplo; Viva Presents local alt. rockers Sad Girl and cumbia punk band Thee Commons; recording artists from Skrillex’s OWSLA record label; L.A.-based dance collective Calentura; and an L.A. designer fashion show, market and exhibition, including Skingraft, Drifter, The Squad, Thorocraft Shoes, OAK, Dimepiece and others.

Event venues span blocks from 3rd Street to Olympic, while a multi-block, on-street festival from 3rd to 7th Street will tie the historic theatre venues together with interactive art activities for the young and young at heart. The festival area will feature DTLA businesses, restaurants, and bars with more than a dozen food trucks on site and late-night access to the vendors at Grand Central Market.

The festival stage will be the centerpiece of all of the outdoor action, with exciting headliners (to be announced in coming days) providing a spectacular soundtrack under the stars. Performance artists will roam and a Ferris Wheel lit in a myriad of colors will offer riders a glimpse of the Downtown skyline from atop a 5-story tall perch over Broadway as never before. 

Artwalk, ArtShare and Think Tank Gallery will each curate festival blocks, replete with mural gardens, illuminated art projection, and installations by internationally acclaimed artists.

The Kids’ Zone presented by Star Education will feature entertaining, interactive, and educational S.T.E.A.M. (science, technology, engineering, arts and math) exploration for kids of all ages, wildlife animal guests rescued by the Eco Station, and musical performances by talented kid rockers in their very own bands. The Kids’ Zone will also include a special area geared towards toddlers and preschoolers.

Two Bit Circus will engage young curiosities in a space where interactive engineering intersects with technology and spectacle, while a Silent Disco Party unfolds for participants through a special HUSHConcerts headphone interface.

NoH8 will offer an open photo shoot opportunity for an additional fee as part of a worldwide to effort to promote marriage, gender and human equality through education, advocacy, social media, and visual protest.

Produced in conjunction with the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI), Night on Broadway will take place January 30, 2016 from 5pm to 11pm on Broadway between 3rd Street and Olympic Blvd.  Night on Broadway is free - no tickets required - open to all ages and will take place rain or shine in celebration of the 8th anniversary of Councilmember José Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway. 

TRANSPORTATION

Night on Broadway is produced in partnership with METRO.  Go Metro! Show your TAP card at the Bringing Back Broadway for destination discounts related to Night On Broadway. Take the Metro Red or Purple Line to Pershing Square Station. For your best route or more info, visit the Metro Trip Planner or call 323-Go Metro or (323-466-3876).

Complimentary bike valet will be provided at 5th street in the festival area, coordinated by the Los Angeles County Bicycle Coalition and Broadway’s DTLA Bikes.  Stay tuned for special discounts on shared ride services. Parking is available at the City’s Pershing Square Parking Garage at a flat rate of $7 for vehicles entering after 5pm, and exiting before 2am. Surface lots and garages in the area offer varying commercial prices.

Partners for this Night on Broadway event include Councilmember José Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway  and the Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative; We Are Giants; L.A. Fashion District; Historic Downtown Business Improvement District; Downtown Center Business Improvement District; and Think Tank Gallery. Sponsors include Armbruster, Goldsmith & Delvac;Downtown News; The Los Angeles Times; Metro; Star Education; Peet’s Coffee & Tea; and HUSHConcerts. Mumtaz Marketing & Events is coordinating for Bringing Back Broadway. Special thanks to the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation and the Los Angeles Conservancy for volunteers, and to event co-chairs Jessica Hencier and Katie Kiefer. 

The full roster of acts and activities for Night On Broadway will be updated at nightonbroadway.la

ABOUT BRINGING BACK BROADWAY

Bringing Back Broadway is an ambitious 10-year plan led by Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar to revitalize the Historic Broadway corridor in downtown Los Angeles, a National Register Historic District.  Goals are to provide economic development and business assistance; encourage historic preservation; reactivate Broadway’s historic theaters and long-underutilized commercial buildings; and increase transit and development options by bringing the beloved streetcar back to downtown Los Angeles with Broadway as the spine for the route. Under Councilmember Huizar’s Bringing Back Broadway initiative the area has already experienced a surge in new retail and restaurants and is becoming a focal point for creative office and boutique hotel development.

City policies aimed at spurring this revitalization through Bringing Back Broadway include the City’s Historic Commercial Reuse Guidelines, Broadway Entertainment Zone policies, a facade lighting grant program, an upcoming Historic Broadway Sign District, and the Broadway Streetscape plan, one of the country’s largest road diets, which prioritizes people over vehicles and creates a safer and more vibrant pedestrian experience along Broadway.  More at BringingBackBroadway.com. 

ABOUT LANI:  The Los Angeles Neighborhood Initiative (LANI) works with committed community members to revitalize neighborhoods through improvement of public transportation corridors, urban greening and business district projects.  More at lani.org.