broadway

The MTA Is Reviving Its Classic ‘The Only Sure Way to Make It to Broadway’ Ad Campaign

By , a Vulture critic covering theater, film, and TV
Clockwise from left: Waitress’s Stephanie Torns and Maiesha McQueen; Six’s Adrianna Hicks and Andrea Macasaet; Mrs. Doubtfire’s Avery Sell and Rob McClure; Dear Evan Hansen’s Jordan Fisher; Chicago’s Mary Claire King and Arian Keddell; Phantom of the Opera’s Paul A. Schaefer and Julia Udine; and Moulin Rouge!’s Bahiyah Hibah and Danny Burstein. Photo: Matthew Murphy

This fall, live theater is returning to New York, and its stars are returning to the subway. Literally, in the case of many who have to get to Times Square for work, and figuratively, in a new MTA campaign that brings together characters from some of the most distinctive Broadway shows currently running.

The ads re-create an image and revive the tagline from a well-remembered 1977 ad that announced the subway was “the only sure way to make it to Broadway†and featured the likes of Eartha Kitt, Carol Channing, and characters from Grease and Annie. The new version goes with long-running juggernauts Phantom and Chicago as well as newer hits Six and Dear Evan Hansen.

“The original came out at a time when Times Square was kind of an unsavory place to visit and was done to encourage people to see a show,†said Nick Pramik, a managing partner at RPM who rebooted the campaign alongside creative director Steven Tartick. Now, as theaters reopen after the COVID-19 crisis and audiences are once again hesitant about heading back into theaters and trains, they felt it would be an apt theme to revisit. “We thought it was a similar time in history, albeit under completely different circumstances, and thank goodness the MTA agreed.â€

The 1977 ad: Timbuktu!’s Melba Moore and Eartha Kitt; The Magic Show’s Joseph Abaldo; Same Time, Next Year’s Monte Markham; Cold Storage’s Martin Balsam and Ruth Rivera; Grease’s Melody Libonati and Greg Zadikov; Hello, Dolly!’s Carol Channing; Annie’s Reid Shelton; Beatlemania’s Alan Leboeuf; and The Wiz’s Stephanie Mills and Gregg Baker.

Pramik and Tartick had first seen the original poster thanks to Time Out New York critic Adam Feldman, who shared it on Twitter this March, inspiring a hunt to identify the actors in the original. For the 2021 version, RPM gathered seven different productions for a cocktail of new shows and classics. “It’s nice that the most recent new musical that’s opened on Broadway is in the mix,†Tartick said, “and the longest-running Broadway musical is.â€

Left, Six’s Adrianna Hicks and Andrea Macasaet; right, Dear Evan Hansen’s Jordan Fisher. Matthew Murphy.
Left, Six’s Adrianna Hicks and Andrea Macasaet; right, Dear Evan Hansen’s Jordan Fisher. Matthew Murphy.
Left, Moulin Rouge!’s Danny Burstein and Bahiyah Hibah; right, Mrs. Doubtfire’s Rob McClure and Avery Sell. Matthew Murphy.
Left, Moulin Rouge!’s Danny Burstein and Bahiyah Hibah; right, Mrs. Doubtfire’s Rob McClure and Avery Sell. Matthew Murphy.
Left, Waitress’s Maiesha McQueen and Stephanie Torns; right, Phantom of the Opera’s Paul A. Schaefer and Julia Udine. Matthew Murphy.
Left, Waitress’s Maiesha McQueen and Stephanie Torns; right, Phantom of the Opera’s Paul A. Schaefer and Julia Udine. Matthew Murphy.
Chicago’s Mary Claire King and Arian Keddell. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The ads will start to show up on commutes in the second week of November, appearing for at least four weeks on digital screens as well as 1,000 posters arrayed across the subway, LIRR, and Metro-North. Everything was shot inside the disused Bowery station in lower Manhattan, a favorite spot for film and TV shoots.

Tags:

The MTA Is Reviving a Classic Broadway Ad Campaign