NEW YORK CITY: The Shubert Foundation has announced a special online presentation of the sixth annual Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival on June 15 at 7 p.m. ET. Hosted by Jelani Alladin (Frozen, Hercules), the streamed production will feature over 160 teen artists from New York City Public Schools and will stream on the Shubert Organization website.
“Our 1.1 million students are incredibly creative, and through our investment in high quality arts education, we can cultivate and inspire the next generation of dancers, musicians, actors, and visual artists,” said schools chancellor Richard A. Carranza in a statement. “I thank the Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival for investing in our students and providing them with a professional experience and a Broadway platform.”
The festival showcases the ongoing theatre work taking place in New York City public high schools and will feature five high school productions from the 2019-20 school year. The five productions were selected from over 30 productions across the city by a panel of professional theatremakers and educators. This year’s schools will present scene and musical number excerpts. For each virtual production, student artists rehearsed and recorded their individual performances on their devices to be shared with audiences.
The featured schools and productions are:
- Brooklyn High School of the Arts (Brooklyn) – Fame
- Curtis High School (Staten Island) – Lucky Stiff
- Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (Queens) – Hairspray
- Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts (Manhattan) – Aida
- Talent Unlimited High School (Manhattan) – The Wolves
“Since the beginning of this festival six years ago, our New York City Public High School students have delighted us with their commitment, skill and creativity,” said Diana Phillips, president of the Shubert Foundation, in a statement. “But this year they have outdone themselves. Under the most trying of circumstances they have come together to present magical performances where their talent, spirit, and ingenuity are nothing short of an inspiration. Bravo to them and to their teachers for creating such a memorable event.”
The festival, presented in partnership with the New York City Department of Education, will include guest presenters Adam Chanler-Berat (Peter and the Starcatcher), James Harkness (Ain’t Too Proud), Carly Hughes (Beautiful, “American Housewife”), George Salazar (Be More Chill), and Sherie Rene Scott (Whorl Inside A Loop).
