Dolphin Entertainment Acquires Ownership Stake in Midnight Theatre
Dolphin Entertainment (NASDAQ:DLPN) has acquired a stake in the Midnight Theatre, a contemporary variety venue and restaurant in Manhattan's Manhattan West development, valued at $4.5 billion. The theater features a 160-seat performance space and a pan-Asian restaurant, Hidden Leaf. The venue will host diverse performances, integrating advanced technology for live-streaming events. Managed by experienced professionals, this partnership aims to leverage Dolphin's marketing strengths to enhance the theater's unique offering, expected to open in late Fall 2021.
- Partnership with Midnight Theatre enhances branding and marketing opportunities for Dolphin.
- Strategic location in Manhattan West provides high foot traffic and visibility.
- Integration of state-of-the-art technology for performances and live-streaming could attract diverse audiences.
- High competition in New York City entertainment market may pose risks.
- Upcoming operational costs associated with managing the venue could impact profits.
Contemporary Variety Theater and Restaurant to Anchor
NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / October 12, 2021 / Dolphin Entertainment (NASDAQ:DLPN) has taken an ownership position in the Midnight Theatre, a state-of-the-art contemporary variety theater and restaurant experience in the heart of Manhattan. Dolphin will manage all aspects of publicity and marketing for the venue, as well as facilitate talent and commercial relationships within the entertainment and culinary industries. An anchor of Brookfield Properties' recently opened Manhattan West development, the Midnight Theatre is in the final stages of construction, and expects to open in Late Fall, 2021.
The Midnight Theatre features three distinct experiences for guests: the theatre itself; a separate pan-Asian restaurant, Hidden Leaf; and a ground-level café.
The Midnight Theatre will have a weekly schedule of performances and immersive experiences across music, comedy, Broadway, and narrative magic shows programmed at the 160-seat venue. Managed by veteran entertainment executive Warren Adcock, the contemporary variety theatre integrates state-of-the-art 270 degree projection mapped visuals into live performances, allowing for unprecedented intimacy between performers and guests. The Midnight Theatre also has built in live-stream capabilities, allowing for events inside the theatre to expand beyond into people's homes and corporate offices. The theatre will be available to host live streamed podcasts, comedy specials, music events, corporate keynote events, and more.
Hidden Leaf is the modern pan-Asian restaurant concept on the second floor of The Midnight Theatre space, led by Josh Cohen and Executive Chef Richard Kuo. The restaurant features a 75-seat dining room, 20 seat private dining room and a 40-seat lounge/bar area. Open for lunch and dinner, Hidden Leaf incorporates world-class food with interactive elements such as table-side prep, wine consignments, and memberships.
"The Midnight Theatre is the most exciting live venue concept we have seen in a very long time," states Dolphin Entertainment CEO Bill O'Dowd. "A truly modern variety theatre, paired with a fantastic restaurant, is missing in the cultural landscape today. The combination absolutely plays to the broad relationships and marketing strengths of Dolphin, from all aspects of the entertainment industry and the culinary world. Warren and Josh deserve a ton of credit. And, the location is nothing short of phenomenal."
Set between Ninth and Tenth Avenues, and between 31st and 33rd Streets, Manhattan West is a
Manhattan West is comprised of 4 office towers with 6 million feet of commercial space, a residential tower with 844 units, and the newly opened Pendry Hotel (the luxury chain's first in New York City), and includes a 2.5 acre open-air public space surrounded by over 240,000 square feet of retail space. The public space will include a 100 foot x 17.5 foot video screen for video content, movies and broadcast events (such as the World Cup), without commercials. And, from November to April, it will include an ice skating rink (a friendly nod to One Manhattan West serving as the new headquarters for the National Hockey League). Other tenants for the office space include J.P. Morgan Chase, accounting firms Accenture and EY, law firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Cravath, Swaine & Moore, and corporate offices for Amazon and Peloton.
"Brookfield Properties is excited to welcome Dolphin Entertainment to the Midnight Theatre partnership at Manhattan West. We look forward to working with their team of world-class entertainment, marketing and creative professionals to bring the theater to life," said Jason Maurer, Senior Vice President, Retail Leasing, Brookfield Properties. "The Midnight Theatre is such a unique offering and we cannot wait for New Yorkers to come experience this intimate and immersive venue."
"To partner with Jason and Brookfield in building the only entertainment venue within their signature Manhattan West property is a truly unique opportunity," continues O'Dowd. "Placing the Midnight Theatre within one block of Madison Square Garden, Moynihan/Penn Station and Hudson Yards, as well as a very short walk from the Javits Center, and situated within an absolutely stunning, world-class development, simply gives the property a tremendous number of inherent marketing advantages and opportunities."
Warren Adcock, Co-Founder, Executive Producer and Entertainment Technologist of Midnight Theatre, has made a career out of collaborating with artists and technologists to tell stories across live events, film, TV, experiential marketing, theater, and magic. Adcock's professional experience in this field began when he managed magician David Blaine's production company, produced Blaine's live performances and public stunts, and oversaw magic production for the ABC special David Blaine: Real or Magic. Following David Blaine Productions, Warren worked for Pulse Films (a Vice Media Company) on branded, commercial, TV and film content. Warren also served as an Executive Producer and the Director of Operations at Madison Square Garden Ventures.
"Dolphin coming into the Midnight Theatre quite simply transforms and elevates this venture," states Adcock. "It's not just their PR and marketing muscle, which is second to none. Shore Fire's incredibly impressive roster of musical artists spans literally every genre of music, and 42West's reputation and reach within the industry is nothing short of legendary. Together, they will help us fuel the most exciting new venue to hit New York City in a long time, where something magical can be happening on any night of the week."
Josh Cohen, Co-Founder of Midnight Theatre, is a restaurateur who has helped to put Brooklyn on the map as a dining destination by opening several well-received establishments in Williamsburg and Greenpoint, including the coveted Italian restaurant Lilia, the legendary rock and metal music venue Saint Vitus, as well as Chez Ma Tante, Anella, and Casa Publica, among many others. Josh is known for his scouting and nurturing of culinary talent, and his thoughtful presentation of truly inviting hospitality.
Richard Kuo, Executive Chef of Hidden Leaf, was born in Taiwan and raised in Australia. Kuo worked at Corton and Seäsonal before breaking out on his own as chef and co-owner of pop-up Frej in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Formerly at the helm of popular industry hangout Pearl & Ash, Kuo's cooking pays homage to the variety in cuisine he's known his whole life and he has earned a 2015 StarChefs Rising Star Chef Award for his work.
"Pardon the expression, but Dolphin is altogether just a different kettle of fish," states Cohen. "There is just no other company out there that can do everything they can do. And for my side of the business, The Door represents the best PR and marketing in the culinary industry. Adding Be Social for influencer marketing was a stroke of genius. Only Dolphin could take Midnight Theatre and provide world-class marketing specialists for every single aspect of it. We're incredibly excited."
About Dolphin Entertainment
Dolphin Entertainment is a leading independent entertainment marketing and production company. Through our subsidiaries 42West, The Door, Shore Fire Media and B/HI (a division of 42West), we provide expert strategic marketing and publicity services to many of the top brands, both individual and corporate, in the film, television, music, gaming and hospitality industries. All three PR firms were ranked among the most recent Observer's "Power 50" PR Firms in the United States, an unprecedented achievement. Viewpoint Creative and Be Social complement their efforts with full-service creative branding and production capabilities as well as social media and influencer marketing services. Dolphin's legacy content production business, founded by Emmy-nominated CEO Bill O'Dowd, has produced multiple feature films and award-winning digital series. Dolphin's Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) division is dedicated to designing, producing, distributing and promoting NFTs for itself and its clients within the film, television, music, gaming, epicurean, and technology industries. The NFTs division is comprised of executives across all six of Dolphin's wholly-owned subsidiaries blending their collective expertise in creative services, digital design, production, marketing, sales and public relations. To learn more, visit: https://www.dolphinentertainment.com.
This press release contains 'forward-looking statements' within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. These forward-looking statements may address, among other things, Dolphin Entertainment Inc.'s offering of common stock as well as expected financial and operational results and the related assumptions underlying its expected results. These forward-looking statements are distinguished by the use of words such as "will," "would," "anticipate," "expect," "believe," "designed," "plan," or "intend," the negative of these terms, and similar references to future periods. These views involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and, accordingly, Dolphin Entertainment's actual results may differ materially from the results discussed in its forward-looking statements. Dolphin Entertainment's forward-looking statements contained herein speak only as of the date of this press release. Factors or events Dolphin Entertainment cannot predict, including those described in the risk factors contained in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, may cause its actual results to differ from those expressed in forward-looking statements. Although Dolphin Entertainment believes the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved, and Dolphin Entertainment undertakes no obligation to update publicly any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
CONTACT
James Carbonara
Hayden IR
(646)-755-7412
james@haydenir.com
SOURCE: Dolphin Entertainment, Inc.
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