Broadway Goes Green

Broadway is going green - and not just Wicked.  The Great White Way, strewn with incandescent bulbs eating megawatts of electricity are being replaced.  Ten theaters have already replaced their bulbs and over the next year, all NYC Broadway theaters will replace their bulbs with energy efficient models.  Theaters are using LED and CFLs that will mimic the same look and feel as the incandescent - at a fraction of the wattage and thus cost.

Not only are the theaters changing lightbulbs, they are outlining plans for more environmental change on the big stage.  Playbills will be made from more recyclable materials and soluable inks.  Stage sets will use recycled materials and will be recycled when they are done with a show.  Cleaning supplies will be ecofriendly and even touring casts are looking at ways to reduce energy use in the trucking, etc.

“By this time next year, the lights on Broadway will burn just as bright, but the energy bills and our city’s carbon output will be lower,” Maybor Bloomberg said. “This commitment will raise the level of awareness for everyone involved in these shows including the audiences and that’s going to have an impact that reverberates far beyond the Big Apple.”

Allen Hershkowitz, a senior scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, or NRDC, is providing guidance.  He makes a very valid point.  “It’s not like we’re running out of time,” Mr. Hershkowitz told people at the meeting. “We have run out of time.” 

 Source: New York Times

 I’ll leave you with some clips of folks I know…