CJ ENM, the First Korean Company to Attend the Regular Conference of the ‘Broadway League’

CJ ENM became the first Korean company to officially attend the regular conference of the ‘Broadway League’, an association of Broadway producers and venues in the U.S., as a full member, adding great significance to the global performance of CJ’s cultural business.

The full membership of the 'Broadway League' is given through the league's screening among the companies that have participated as a general producer (GP) in two or more Broadway musicals that have been staged for three years and the limited partners (LP) who have invested at least $1 million in each production or 15% of the production cost. CJ ENM acquired full membership in 2018 by participating as a co-producer of <Moulin Rouge>, which will enter Broadway in June this year following <Kinky Boots>, which held its worldwide licensed premiere in Korea.

CJ ENM attended the 17th Broadway League Biennial Conference held in Orlando, Florida from January 29 to February 1 as a full member.

It is the main event of the 'Broadway League' held biennially in Florida, where Broadway producers and key players among full members share Broadway and global performance industry trends and conduct networking meetings.

The event is the only place where various systems that have been built over a long history come together, and seeks synergies by gathering the collective intelligence of producers. The conference also goes beyond the cultural industry by promoting growth with the tourism industry, which is a major axis of the social economy.

The conference was attended by various figures from the American performance and entertainment industry.

The event included a keynote speech by Buddy Dyer, Mayor of Orlando, a communication lecture by Celeste Headlee, author and host of NPR, a lecture by Dr. Stacey Smith on gender inequality in Hollywood, an insight sharing by Fred Dixon, president of NYC & CO. through New York City inbound overseas tourist data, and a resort introduction and future vision sharing by George Kalogridis, President of Disney World Resorts and Hotels, in order.

As for the attendees, including Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League Association, Ed Sandler, Executive Director of League Membership Management, Thomas Schumacher, League Chairman and President of Disney Theatrical Productions, Mark Kaufman, Warner Bros. Senior Vice President and Producer, the executives of Shubert Organization, Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcym Theater, the three major Broadway theater operators, the executives of ATG, the largest theater operator in the UK, and Stage Entertainment, the largest production company in Europe, Hal Luftig, producer of the musical <Kinky Boots>, and Aaron Rustbader of Forsight Theatrical, who has been collaborating with CJ ENM as general manager of <Kinky Boots>, <Moulin Rouge>, and <August Rush>, about 200 people attended the conference where they held networking meetings.

CJ ENM became a full member in 2018 following the approval of an associate member of the Broadway League in 2014, 10 years after entering the global market, and is expected to continue its activities, this conference being part of that effort.

From the opening of Broadway (June) of the co-produced musical <Moulin Rouge>, which is attracting attention as this year's most anticipated work, to <August Rush>, which is being produced in-house, and <Back to the Future>, which is being co-produced in West End, England, CJ ENM plans to continue its lineup targeting the world beyond the Asian market.

[Overview of the 17th Broadway League Biennial Conference]

Period: January 29th - February 1st, 2019

Location: Orlando, Florida, USA

Program: 

1) Keynote speech by Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer

2) Keynote 1

Speaker: Celeste Headlee, writer and presenter of NPR, a public broadcaster in the United States

Subject : Communication

3) Keynote 2

Speaker: Dr. Stacey Smith

Subject : A study on gender inequality in Hollywood

4) Keynote 3

Speaker:  Fred Dixon, president of NYC & CO., a New York City Tourism Organization

Subject : Data analysis of New York City inbound overseas tourists

5) Keynote 4

Speaker: George Kalogridis, President of Disney World Resorts and Hotels

Subject : Introduction about Disney World Resort

▶ Key Attendees in Networking

- Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League Association

- Ed Sandler, Executive Director of League Membership Management

- Thomas Schumacher, League Chairman and President of Disney Theatrical Productions

- Mark Kaufman, Warner Bros. Senior Vice President and Producer

- Shubert Organization, Nederlander Organization, and Jujamcym Theater, the three major Broadway theater operators

- ATG, the largest theater operator in the UK

- Executives of Stage Entertainment, the largest production company in Europe

- Hal Luftig, producer of the musical <Kinky Boots>

- Aaron Rustbader of Forsight Theatrical, who has been collaborating with CJ ENM as general manager of <Kinky Boots>, <Moulin Rouge>

- About 200 people including the above