ArtsConnection Brings High School Student Artists To DEAR EVAN HANSEN

ArtsConnection, NYC's leading arts-in-education organization, has announced that it will partner with the musical Dear Evan Hansen, for an innovative new program called 'ART2ART - Dear Evan Hansen,' that will bring public high school student artists to the show. Beginning this spring and continuing throughout the next year, groups of 50 NYC public high school students will see the musical, and then create original works of art to express their responses visually. All of the work will be curated in an online gallery, and select pieces will be displayed at the Music Box Theatre on Broadway, where the production - just nominated for nine Tony Awards including Best Musical -- runs eight times a week.

"We're so grateful that the producers of Dear Evan Hansenhave helped provide the funding to make this possible," ArtsConnection founder Linda Janklow said. "With this program, these high school students, many of whom have never seen a Broadway show, will be able to not only see this groundbreaking musical, but will use visual art to delve deeper into the issues the show addresses in an unprecedented way. This show has been resonating so deeply among generations, it felt only natural to team up to spark thought-provoking conversations."

Students throughout New York City are eligible to apply, and 50 students will be chosen to participate in the first session. Next week, those chosen will attend a workshop, during which they will meet with members of the musical's cast, before attending the May 23rd performance of Dear Evan Hansen, followed by a special talkback with the cast. Student artwork will be submitted by early June with the launch of the online gallery later that month. A celebration for the students, and the Dear Evan Hansen cast, will take place at the end of June.

This program will be offered multiple times during the 2017-18 season, and the artwork will be part of a growing online gallery available for the thousands of Dear Evan Hansen fans throughout the United States.

ArtsConnection is a nationally recognized non-profit arts education organization with a 38 year history of giving New York City public school students, pre-kindergarten through grade 12, the skills, motivation and positive reinforcement they need to succeed academically and personally. Our award-winning arts programs support literacy and foster communication, creativity, collaboration and critical thinking. We direct our work to the most high-needs communities, and each year reach 45,000 students through partnerships with over 100 public schools annually across the 5 boroughs and through after-school and weekend initiatives that engage middle and high school students in the cultural resources of New York City. Children and teens are learning to better understand themselves and the world around them through our music, dance, theater, media and visual arts programming led by a faculty of over 125 specially-trained professional artists who share their distinctive artistic perspectives to inspire, guide and teach students. www.artsconnection.org

With a book by Tony Award nominee Steven Levenson, a score by Academy Award-Winners Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, and directed by 4-time Tony® Award nominee Michael Greif, Dear Evan Hansen officially opened on December 4 and has just been nominated for nine 2017 Tony Awards. The Original Broadway Cast Recording of Dear Evan Hansen, produced by Atlantic Records, recently made an extraordinary debut on the Billboard 200, entering the chart at #8 - the highest charting debut position for an original cast album since 1961. Tickets for Dear Evan Hansen (starting at $69) are available at the Music Box Theatre box office, on Telecharge.com, or by calling (212) 239-6200. For the complete performance schedule, please see www.dearevanhansen.com.