Founders Story

One of the greatest joys of being part of a Broadway show is knowing the heart-soaring escape it provides to our audience members during the time they spend in our darkened theater.

During my nearly 21 years performing on Broadway, a personal highlight was when Make-A-Wish children would come to see the show. I looked forward to staying after the show to meet the kids and their families. However, after too many instances where a child had to cancel their visit, in 2018, I was inspired to create a way to bring Broadway performers directly to children in treatment.

With a few like-hearted performers from The Phantom of the Opera and other Broadway productions, I began reaching out to children’s hospitals, asking if we could visit and share music with the children. And with that, Broadway Hearts was born.

In 2019, we became a 501(c)(3), growing from just seven volunteers to over a hundred, representing nearly every show on Broadway. What started as visits to a single NYC hospital has since expanded to over forty hospitals nationwide, with our reach and programming continuing to grow.

Broadway Hearts was born from a desire to make a lasting difference in a child’s life, through the healing power of music, joy and laughter. It's become a profound passion in my own life and I feel very fortunate to be carrying this mission forward with wonderful friends and colleagues by my side.

Broadway Hearts is dedicated to my father, Peter Radetsky, whom we lost in 2009 to pancreatic cancer. There are no words to fully capture how incredible he was — as both a person and a father — and losing him changed my life in ways I could never have imagined. I knew I wanted to honor him in meaningful way, and I feel incredibly grateful to do so through Broadway Hearts. I believe he would have loved what we’re doing. - Jessica Radetsky

Jessica Radetsky began studying classical ballet at the age of 5, and has been dancing professionally since the age of 17. Her career has taken her all over the world. Some of the highlights include dancing with the Kirov Opera Ballet, The San Francisco and Los Angeles Opera Ballets, the Phantom of the Opera on Broadway (closing company), and in the Jazz Age dance group The Canarsie Wobblers.