BRAVO'S JAI RODRIGUEZ TO JOIN 50 WINNING STUDENTS ON BROADWAY FOR 'BRAVO ON WITH THE SHOW' FINALE
50 Students from Across the Country Win a Trip to New York City to Train and Perform on Broadway
NEW YORK -- April 13, 2005 -- Bravo, the premier network dedicated to innovative arts and entertainment programming, announced today the selection of 50 talented students (ages 10 to 17) from across the country as winners of the ultimate prize in this year's Bravo On With The Show national contest. These talented, aspiring actors are headed to New York City next week to fulfill their dreams of performing on Broadway. Jai Rodriguez - "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" culture connoisseur and talented Broadway actor, singer and dancer - is hosting the event.
Rodriguez starred as Zanna, the lead role in the off-Broadway musical hit "Zanna, Don't!" and joined "Zanna, Don't!" after a long-run on Broadway as Angel in Jonathan Larson's Tony Award-winning musical, "Rent."
This year's 50 winners will descend upon New York City the weekend of April 16th where they will undergo three days of intense theatrical training under the tutelage of professional Broadway actors, choreographers and directors. During this time, they will learn to sing, dance and act various roles within a 60-minute production specially scripted for Bravo On With The Show that incorporates elements from such celebrated musicals as Oklahoma, West Side Story and 42nd Street. The culmination of this training will be a final performance the evening of April 18th in front of a live audience at Broadway's famed Imperial Theatre.
In addition to sending these deserving youngsters to New York City, $1,000 will be donated to each winner's school on behalf of Bravo and the local cable operator to lend support to their educational arts programs. In total, $125,000 has been donated to local schools and arts programs nationwide on behalf of Bravo and participating operators since the program's inception.
"As a network committed to showcasing our arts and culture heritage in a contemporary framework, Bravo is dedicated to making the arts more accessible by improving arts programs in schools across the country," said Erica Conaty, Vice President, Marketing, NBC Universal Cable. "Bravo is proud to team up with our affiliates in offering the stars of tomorrow this once-in-a-lifetime experience."
Bravo also announced that, due to this year's overwhelming success, the multi-award winning Bravo On With The Show national contest will expand next year to include other forms of entertainment - with the third annual competition launching later this year. More details on this will be announced prior to the September 1, 2005 contest announcement. Students can enter the third annual Bravo On With The Show contest by submitting a short entry form, including a 250-500-word essay, and teacher recommendation by the deadline on December 3, 2004. Judges will choose the finalists based on the quality of responses and the strength of the teacher recommendations.
A multi-award winning campaign, Bravo On With The Show has received three CTPAA Beacon awards and a National Education Association Standing Ovation award.
Bravo On With The Show is an original, arts education initiative created by Bravo that seeks to raise the awareness of the positive impact of theater participation on young people, while recognizing participants and supporters who make a difference. Exclusive to cable, this ongoing, affiliate community relations campaign offers valuable opportunities for operators to connect with their customers in unique and meaningful ways.
Bravo On With The Show is a program supporting Bravo's objective to make the arts more accessible to local communities. To learn more about this program, visit www.bravotv.com/Bravo_On_With_The_Show .
About Bravo
Bravo is the cable network that plugs people into arts, culture and pop culture with original programming, movies and by showing a whole different side of celebrities. Currently available in more than 78 million homes, Bravo is known for breaking exciting new personalities, shaking up the way we look at style, media, fame and Hollywood, pulling back the curtain on the creative process and making influential and inventive original programming. Its critically acclaimed and award-winning original programming includes "Inside the Actors Studio," "Celebrity Poker Showdown," "Project Greenlight," as well as the 2004 Emmy winner for Outstanding Reality Program, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." The network's latest hits include "Project Runway," "Blow Out" and "Showbiz Moms & Dads."
About NBC Universal Cable
NBC Universal Cable, a division of NBC Universal, one of the world's preeminent media companies, drives the company's cable strategic development and growth including video-on-demand, pay-per-view, HDTV and retransmission consent, and oversees the cable distribution, marketing and local ad sales of fourteen properties (Bravo, CNBC, CNBC World, MSNBC, mun2, NBC Weather Plus, Sci-Fi, ShopNBC, Telemundo, Telemundo Puerto Rico, Trio, Universal HD, USA and the Olympics on cable). NBC Universal Cable also directs and manages the company's cable and new media investments including A&E, The History Channel, History Channel International, The Biography Channel, National Geographic International, the Sundance Channel and Tivo.
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