The Shubert Foundation and Music Theatre International’s 12th Annual Broadway Junior Student Finale will be held May 9 at 10:30 AM at Broadway’s Winter Garden Theatre.
Music Theatre International Chairman and CEO Freddie Gershon will kick off the event with welcoming remarks. Rodney Hicks and Chad Kimball—both from the new Broadway musical Come From Away—will host.
New York City Public School students from Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens, and Staten Island will perform numbers from their school productions of licensed “Junior” versions of Broadway musicals. The shows include Annie, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, High School Musical, The Lion King, Hairspray, Once on This Island, Peter Pan, Willy Wonka, Shrek, and Thoroughly Modern Millie. Over 600 students are expected to participate.
The Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior is a musical theatre mentorship program that helps public schools that have limited arts programming build self-sustaining theatre programs. The program is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, Music Theatre International (MTI), and the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE).
In attendance at the May 9 event will be Shubert Foundation President Michael I. Sovern, Chairman of the Shubert Organization Philip J. Smith, President of the Shubert Organization Robert E. Wankel, and New York City Department of Education Deputy Chancellor for Teaching and Learning Phil Weinberg, as well as members of NYC Schools Chancellor Carmen Fariña’s cabinet from the Department of Education, prominent NYC arts educators, and leading members of New York’s professional theater community.
“Expanding access to arts education inspires students, builds confidence, and deepens their critical thinking skills,” said NYC Schools Chancellor Fariña in a statement. “I am grateful to the Shubert Foundation for its ongoing partnership to provide students with a unique opportunity to develop their talents and commend the students participating in the Broadway Junior Student Finale.”
Sovern added, “Every year, the Broadway Junior celebration is a joyful burst of youthful talent and energy that lights up Broadway. The long-running success of this program clearly demonstrates the value of The Shubert Foundation’s ongoing support for arts education programs in our New York City public schools.”
The Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior program engages students in all aspects of the arts, utilizing master teachers and expert production advisers from the educational theatre organizations iTheatrics, Broadway Bound Kids, and ArtsConnection. For more information, visit ShubertFoundation.org.
For the third consecutive year, Playbill has supported the Broadway Junior Student Finale by supplying the official PLAYBILLder for the event. Visit PlaybillEDU for more than 2,000 theatre, dance, and music programs at more than 1,000 colleges and universities across North America.
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