Broadway for Free in NYC attracts over 6000 people

"The counter was a little bit higher than I thought" said Josefa Paganuzzi, Director of Communications at Clear Channel Radio, who later confirmed 6,126 people showed up.

The scenes opened with a selection of songs presented by casts from "Monty Python's Spamalot," "Stomp," "Russian on the side," "Title of Show" and "Chicago" who dressed in casual clothes and promotional t-shirts of their own productions.

The stage was placed in Bryant Park's lawn area behind the New York Public Library. People were sprawled across the grass in lawn-chairs or atop towels as the summer sun drenched the lawn. Young to old, singles and families with children were all in attendance.

The first 3 songs were performed by "Monty Python's Spamalot" cast which included over 20 actors including Stephen Collins as King Arthur, Drew Lachey as Patsy, Jenny Hill as the Lady of the Lake and Bradley Dean as Sir Dennis Gahalad.

"Stomp" followed with 8 of its own actors, comprising diverse nationalities.

Veteran entertainer Mark Nadler presented a comedy music show with Russian roots called "Russian on the Side" written, sang and played by himself. The show was to be a sample of what he will bring to Broadway in coming months.

"I am here to entertain these people and that's what I'm going to do, whoever they are I want them to have a good time, that's my hope today," Nadler said.

Actors from "The title of show" followed, joined by Hunter Bell, Jeff Bowen, Susan Blackwell and Heidi Blickenstaff who sang accompanied by Larry Pressgrove on the piano. The show is the story of two men (Hunter and Jeff) who decide to write an original musical starring themselves and two girls.

"We had such a blast at Broadway in Bryant Park," the cast wrote on its website shortly after the event. "After going and watching and cheering for shows to actually be up there rockin' our tunes was so much fun.

"Chicago" -- the musical that has become the longest running revival in Broadway history and has won six Tony Awards -- concluded the one-hour event.

Atendees can expect to find other favorites, such as "The Lion King" "Mary Poppins" "Mamma Mia!" "Rent" and "Hairspray" to perform in the coming weeks.

This week's festivities kick off the seventh season of "Broadway in Bryant Park."

"It gets better every year" LiteFm's Karen Carson said.

Broadway in Bryant Park will continue its presentations at 12:30 p.m. each Thursday until August 14, provided good weather. Access is free.

Bank of America, America Airlines and Toyota collaborated to organize the event-.