Today we’d like to introduce you to Julie Boardman.
Hi Julie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I feel very fortunate to have grown up surrounded by the arts. I began performing (sing/dance/act) at the age of five and saw every show that toured through Segerstrom (then the Orange Country Performing Arts Center). I was part of The Young Americans for many years, touring and fostering music in the schools. After college at USC, I moved to NYC and worked at Jive Records. One day, I went on an audition for the national tour of 42ND STREET and booked it! I quit my job, went on tour, and a year later when back in NYC, instead of going back in the music industry, I pursued acting. Eventually, I decided that the life of a performer wasn’t for me and that I wanted to be producing shows on Broadway. Separately, I started an event staffing agency for promotional marketing events, where I worked with some of the nation’s biggest brands and gave freelance work to aspiring actors.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Being a younger woman in an older male-dominated field has its challenges, but I have found the adversity I’ve faced motivating.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I have co-produced about a dozen shows on Broadway, both plays and musicals. I tend to gravitate toward the ones that change the conversation and expand people’s perspectives, but I also love escapism — if it can do both, even better. I have begun developing work, and I have to say it is the most gratifying to have an idea and nurture it along. I think I am known for being disruptive (hopefully that’s a good thing).
The Museum of Broadway is something that never existed before, and my partner Diane Nicoletti and I found a way to do it — we created the space we wished had existed when we were young and first visiting NYC. We took a long-term lease on a 26,000 square foot space in the heart of Times Square and opened on November 15, 2022. We’re open seven days a week and employ a bunch of aspiring actors — to know we are helping them live their dreams while creating an experience for visitors to revel in Broadway’s history is very gratifying.
We’d be interested to hear your thoughts on luck and what role, if any, you feel it’s played for you?
I believe that everything happens for a reason, and when I am on the right path for me, things seem to fall into place and I run into people on the streets of NYC. When I don’t run into folks, I know something must be off and I go back to the drawing board.
Pricing:
- Tickets for The Museum of Broadway start at $34 and a portion of every ticket sold will be donated to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
- A limed number of $25 tickets are available on the first Tuesday of every month
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.themuseumofbroadway.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/museumofbroadway/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/museumofbroadway/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/museum-of-broadway-new-york
- Other: https://www.instagram.com/msjulieboardman/?hl=en
