Who the Hell is Key Brand Entertainment?

Nice to know someone is bullish on the future of Broadway:

Entertainment industry veteran Tom McGrath and his Manhattan-based private equity firm Key Brand Entertainment quietly built a theater empire Tuesday, by acquiring one of the industry's leading Web sites for $45 million.

Key Brand bought theater Web site Broadway.com and its group ticket-sales arm, Theatre Direct, from Hollywood Media Corp. in a deal that included $20 million in cash. The move comes just two years after Key Brand bought Broadway Across America, the theater division of concert juggernaut Live Nation Inc. for more than $90 million. Broadway Across America's touring mega-hits include In the Heights, Avenue Q, Chicago, Rent, Wicked and West Side Story, among others.

Funniest quote of the day comes from Key Brand spokes trying to allay fears of using the website as some company mouthpiece for their product:

“It would be completely useless if we opened our own show, then gave it a good review,” Mr. Gore said. “That would kill our relevance in a second.”

Ha! Indeed.

Meanwhile, keep an eye on Broadway.com.