Playbill has partnered with Inspired to create and amplify stories of inspiration that advocate for access to arts and cultural experiences for young people across the country. The following article is written by the team at Situation Project and adapted from their online publication Inspired. Click here to learn more.

In a tumultuous year for public education, the value of arts access became clearest not in policy debates or budget lines, but in the moments when students encountered live storytelling for the first time.

This year, Situation Project facilitated Broadway experiences for New York City public school students at The Outsiders, Mamma Mia!, and Maybe Happy Ending. For many students, these trips marked a first time inside a Broadway theater. For all, they offered a rare opportunity to engage with live storytelling in a city where access to the arts remains deeply uneven.

As Situation Project’s end-of-year giving campaign comes to a close, these moments offer a clear reminder of what access makes possible.

The Stakes for NYC Students

Across New York City, nearly one in four children lives below the poverty line. Budget constraints and competing priorities mean arts education is often limited or unavailable in public schools, leaving many students without exposure to live cultural experiences during their formative years. These gaps matter. Research consistently links arts engagement to increased empathy, stronger academic outcomes, and greater confidence, but only if students are able to access those experiences in the first place.

Situation Project’s work is rooted in addressing that gap, not as a one-time outing, but as a meaningful entry point into cultural life. This year’s Broadway experiences reflected how powerful that entry point can be when students are invited in with intention.

Learning Responsibility Through Story

At The Outsiders, a story centered on class, loyalty, and survival, students encountered themes that felt strikingly familiar. Musa, a seventh grader at the School of Performing Arts, was particularly moved by a moment when a character speaks about providing for their family. That line reframed how Musa understood his own life. “What inspired me about The Outsiders is the part where the character started talking about how he provides everything for the family,” Musa shared. “And it made me realize how much my parents do for me to send me to school.”

Theater creates space for reflection without instruction, allowing students to arrive at insights on their own terms, often discovering new language for feelings they already carry.

Seeing Excellence Up Close

For Emely, an eighth grader from PS/MS 5, attending Mamma Mia! was a milestone. “Mamma Mia! was my first Broadway show, and I admired the professionalism and the star quality that each of the actresses and actors portrayed in the show,” she said. “It inspires me to be professional and charismatic when I play Beetlejuice in my school’s production of Beetlejuice this year.”

That exposure had immediate resonance. Emely shared that seeing that level of professionalism inspired her to bring greater focus and charisma to her role as Beetlejuice in her school’s upcoming production. Excellence, witnessed firsthand, became something tangible, something to aspire to rather than admire from afar.

Beauty, Connection, and Time

At Maybe Happy Ending, students encountered a quieter but no less powerful story. One student left with a lesson on the value of time. “I think one of the biggest takeaways from the show was that life is short, so just make the most of it. I found it so inspiring how the characters were brought together and their journey to find love,” the student shared.

In a city where many students move quickly between responsibilities, expectations, and pressures, the chance to pause and engage with beauty, vulnerability, and love became a lesson in itself. This is the kind of learning that can’t be replicated in a classroom or a worksheet. It requires presence, time, and access.

Why Support Makes the Difference

These experiences did not happen by accident. Each ticket, each bus ride, each moment inside the theater was facilitated by Situation Project and made possible through community support. End-of-year giving ensures that these opportunities remain available, not just for students who already have access, but for those who might otherwise never step inside a Broadway house.

A seat in the audience can become a turning point, and continued support ensures there will always be more seats to fill.

Inspired was created by Situation Project 501(c)3.