Broadway manager to operate in Istanbul

Bülent Mumay NEW YORK / Radikal

People buy tickets for Newsies, a Broadway show managed by New York’s Nederlander Worldwide.

New York’s Nederlander Worldwide Entertainment (NWE), one of the big theater owners on New York’s Broadway, will manage Zorlu Holding’s performing arts center for 25 years, influencing Turkey’s economy and tourism. The news comes after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently announced the privatization of the City Theaters, which are tied to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

The planned center, with a capacity of 3,070 seats, is part of the Zorlu Center, which is currently being constructed on the European side of Istanbul at an estimated cost of $2.5 billion.

NWE, now run by the third generation of the Nederlander family, is expected to bring shows to the city from around the world, particularly the U.S. The deal, which will bring in shows from Broadway, was signed at the Minskoff Theater, owned by the Nederlander family, last Thursday.

“We have entrusted the arts center at the Zorlu Center to one of the best and most rooted firms in the world in this business. We are building one of the best performance arts centers right in the heart of Istanbul,” said Emre Zorlu, real estate board member with the Zorlu Group.

Robert Nederlander, the third generation manager of NWE, said such centers contribute to the economy substantially.

“The contribution of Broadway shows to New York is about $10 billion. Two-thirds of the ticket buyers are tourists. They create 44,000 jobs. I think that the performance center in Istanbul will contribute to Turkey’s tourism and economy,” he said.

NWE will run the center for 25 years, according to the deal. The group’s activities span theater management and cable TV broadcasting. It operates theaters in China, Taiwan, Brazil, Singapore and Cuba.

The Zorlu Performing Arts Center in Istanbul, with 50,000 square meters of area, will officially be inaugurated in March 2013 and will cost $300 million.