Broadway's SCHOOL OF ROCK Hosts Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival Tonight

SCHOOL OF ROCK - THE MUSICAL will host the Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival for New York City Public Schools tonight, March 7, at Broadway's Winter Garden Theatre.

Alex Brightman, star of School of Rock - THE MUSICAL, will emcee the event, Chancellor Carmen Farina, of the New York City Department of Education, will welcome the crowd and introduce the Shubert Organization's Chairman Philip J. Smith and President Robert E. Wankel. Shubert Foundation President Michael I. Sovern will introduce Brightman.

The Festival is a celebration featuring five outstanding high school student productions from the 2015-2016 school year. The productions have been chosen by a panel of theater professionals and arts educators. It aims to showcase the ongoing and excellent theatre work currently happening in NYC public high schools, as well as highlight the positive effects of theater study on skills for the stage and in life: collaboration, artistry, discipline, focus, literacy, student voice, self-awareness, presence, active listening and empathy. The evening focuses on the impact a full theater program can have on students and school communities. The festival enables students to see that a life in the theater can be a legitimate career path. The Festival is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation in partnership with the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE).

Based on the smash hit 2003 film of the same title, School of Rock - THE MUSICAL features music from the movie, as well as an original score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Glenn Slater, with a book by Julian Fellowes and direction by Laurence Connor.

SCHOOL OF ROCK - THE MUSICAL is produced on Broadway by Andrew Lloyd Webber for The Really Useful Group, Warner Music Group & Access Industries, The Shubert Organization, and The Nederlander Organization. Nina Lannan and Madeleine Lloyd Webber serve as Executive Producers.

The Shubert Foundation, Inc. is the largest institutional funder of theatre education programs throughout NYC public schools and the nation's largest private foundation dedicated to unrestricted funding of not-for-profit theaters, with a secondary focus on dance. The Shubert Foundation, Inc. was established in 1945 by the legendary team of the brothers Lee and J.J. Shubert, producers of more than 520 plays, musicals and revues, as well as owners and operated a nationwide network of legitimate theaters. For more information, visit www.shubertfoundation.org.