Press Agent Michael Hartman to Close Broadway Publicity Firm The Hartman Group in January 2014

Broadway publicity firm The Hartman Group, which currently represents Wicked, If/Then, 700 Sundays, Big Fish, Romeo & Juliet, First Date, Rock of Ages and more, will close its doors January 5, 2014. The firm’s founder, press agent Michael Hartman, is leaving New York for Texas to start a family with his husband. Hartman will also become the CEO of Texas chain Amy’s Ice Creams, with 15 locations throughout the state.

“Theater salvaged my sanity and defined community for me when I was younger and has continued to do so,” Hartman said in a statement. “It has been a privilege to work in an industry that I love and I owe a debt of gratitude to my clients and colleagues over the past 21 years for an absurdly vibrant life as a Broadway press agent in New York City. I am a very lucky man.”

The Hartman Group was founded by Hartman in 2009, and remains one of the largest theatrical publicity firms in New York. Upcoming productions were slated to include The Last Ship, Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, Houdini, Rear Window, Cirkopolis, Dames at Sea and Coal Miner’s Daughter.

Broadway.com salutes many great years working alongside the stellar staff at The Hartman Group—we'll miss you!