OCEAN COUNTY – Island Heights resident Joseph John Brunetti took on the nickname of “Broadway Joe” because he enjoys bringing a bit of Broadway to the beach every summer.
He produces popular shows held on the boardwalk of Seaside Heights and his first “Broadway Meets the Beach” show of the season is coming up this month.
Brunetti said this summer he is bringing “Broadway casts and Broadway stars to perform live on the big Franklin Avenue stage overlooking the ocean in Seaside Heights.”
“Now in our ninth year, I bring the top Broadway casts and stars to perform live in Seaside Heights on the big stage overlooking the ocean. Through the generosity of Seaside Heights Mayor Anthony Vaz and the Seaside Heights Council – as well as some amazing corporate sponsors – our shows are free, so we have a very loyal following. People come from all over the east coast and even plan their summer based on our shows. It’s quite an honor,” Brunetti added.
Brunetti stressed, “I don’t charge a penny to the audience; I just want to make people happy and expose young and old to great culture and music. My first show this summer is Friday, July 18 at 6:30 p.m. The cast will be the Broadway stars from the musical “Chicago.”
He was excited to announce that, “this summer I’m including 50 young children from the area so they get an opportunity to be up on stage and perform with Broadway stars. During the song, we will take out some feather boas for the kids to use as props, and maybe a tambourine or two.”
He also noted his search for a certain special prop for one of the shows. “The Broadway people told me it would be incredible if we could have a vintage trunk to hold the boas and tambourine and then open that up on stage during the song,” he noted.
“Does anyone out there have an old trunk we can use? It can be any color. I might like to create some fake antique looking travel stickers to make it look well-traveled. I’ll reserve you a front row seat or two, do a really fun meet and greet with the stars for you, and get them to autograph a nice picture for you in a frame. It would be a nice thing to do for the kids and the show,” Brunetti promised.
“This summer we are doing three big family friendly shows: Friday, July 18. Friday, August 15 and Monday, September 1. All shows start at 6:30 p.m. on the Franklin Avenue Stage on the Seaside Heights boardwalk,” he added.
“I’d say what sets our shows apart is that it’s like we are one big family. The stars, the audience, the crew. It’s really a one-of-a-kind experience to be so up close and personal. It’s almost like we are doing the show in our living room which just happens to overlook the beautiful ocean,” he added.
Brunetti noted proudly, “I’m Italian and I was raised in the theater and so this is just the way I was brought up. I welcome everyone with love and make sure everyone has the best time of their life. My co-producer is Dee Pellegrino so our Italian heritages combine perfectly.”
He noted that this summer “we have stars from the Broadway hits The Great Gatsby, Chicago, Mamma Mia, The Producers, Cabaret, Aladdin, Kinky Boots, Oh Mary, A Bronx Tale, Les Misérables and more.”
Brunetti said, “we are super excited to announce it’s also our first summer for our new future stars’ workshops. The immensely talented Katie Campbell Sherman has joined our team to produce these amazing once in a lifetime workshops. Children from grades 2 through 12 will be spending an amazing day with our Broadway stars.”
Brunetti said he promotes the beach-based shows on the radio, billboards, online, Playbill write-ups, radio interviews, and more. “We even have a great one-hour PBS special called ‘Broadway Joe’ which premiered last month and is replaying several times.” The trailer for the film can be found at:
facebook.com/100062965342609/videos/561826140347644/?mibextid=rS40aB7S9Ucbxw6v
He added, “it’s a labor of love and they’re very popular shows so I don’t mind rolling up my sleeves for the kids.”
