Go Inside the Curtain Up Broadway Festival Kick-Off Celebration in Times Square

The 2023 Curtain Up Broadway Festival kicked off in Times Square on September 8. The three-day event celebrates all things Broadway with sing-alongs, performances from your favorite Broadway stars, and more. Playbill, The Broadway League, and the Times Square Alliance have brought the outdoor experience back for a third year, presented by Prudential Financial with additional support from the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Music Performance Trust Fund, The Film Fund, Open Jar Studios, and Hotel Edison. The festivities continue through September 10.

Jelani Remy, who currently plays Goldie Wilson and Marvin Berry in Broadway's Back to the Future: The Musical, opened the afternoon presentation crooning "Give My Regards to Broadway" and "There's No Business Like Show Business."

Following the opening number, hosts Arielle Jacobs and Melody Butiu from the Broadway company of Here Lies Love greeted the Times Square audience. Speakers included Ellen Greenwald from The Broadway League, Tom Harris of Times Square Alliance, Alex Birsh of Playbill, Richard Parkinson of Prudential, and Pat Swinney-Kaufman from the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment.

Married Broadway couple Colin Donnell, currently on stage in The Shark Is Broken, and Patti Murin next entertained the audience with "Love Is an Open Door" from Frozen, in which Murin spent two years on Broadway as Anna.

Eric Krop, last seen on Broadway in Godspell, closed out the opening show with "On Broadway." The concert band included Jonathan Ivie, Steve Millhouse, Andrew Zinsmeister, and Jon Weber.

The entire kick-off show was filmed and can be seen here. And take a look at photos from the event in the gallery below.

Join the conversation about Curtain Up Broadway Festival by following @Playbill, @TimesSquareNYC, and @BroadwayLeague and using #CurtainUpBway.

For a full, detailed listing of events taking place all weekend, visit Playbill.com/CurtainUp.