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At the Shubert Foundation/Music Theatre International Broadway Junior Finale, we celebrate nearly 500 NYC students who will take the stage and share musical numbers from their fully-realized Broadway Junior school productions. While most of us could only dream of such an opportunity for our younger selves, to date over 4,000 12-14 year old boys and girls have shared such an inspiring experience with fellow student performers from across the city. For most, the Broadway Junior Program represents their first theatre experience ever and we are thrilled to share in this exciting moment.
The broad and deep impact of this visionary public-private partnership among The Shubert Foundation, Music Theatre International and the NYC Department of Education is truly transformative. The Broadway Junior Program continues to thrive and expand as 65 new and returning schools will produce full musicals for students and families this spring. Participating principals have shared the more inclusive and creative learning culture that Broadway Junior fosters within their schools. Previously reticent teachers have become arts leaders in their schools and communities. A number of Broadway Junior schools with previously little or no access to the arts have since added theatre teachers to their faculty.
Through the power of musical theatre, our NYC public schools student performers discover what it means to strive, to connect, to broaden their sense of self and a sense of “we”. Whether our characters are in the Jungle of Nool, a Caribbean Island, far off in Neverland, or in New York City…students investigate what it means to collaborate and create the world of a play. The process of rehearsing and mounting a theatrical production is a process of learning, exploring and revising - a process that we hope better prepares them to achieve what they can envision whether on stage or beyond.
Peter Avery, Director of Theater
New York City Department of Education
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