Camp Broadway Kids to Perform at NY Pops Gala, 4/30

The Camp Broadway Kids, which is comprised of 58 theatre-loving kids, ages 12-16, are set to perform in the New York Pops 29th Birthday Gala titled 'Journey On' at Carnegie Hall on Monday, April 30. Under the direction of Camp Broadway's Artistic Director,Tony Parise (Broadway credits include Me and My Girl and 42nd Street), the cast, which was selected from a nation-wide pool of over 500 auditionees, will perform alongside Broadway stars during musical numbers honoring the work of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, the Tony Award-winning and Oscar-nominated songwriting team of such renowned Broadway musicals as Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical, My Favorite Year, A Man of No Importance, The Glorious Ones and the feature film Anastasia.

The concert begins at 7:00 PM and will be hosted by four time Tony-winner Terrence McNally, featuring a spectacular lineup of guest artists under the baton of Music Director Steven Reineke. The Camp Broadway Kids will take the stage for three show-stopping numbers. Camp Broadway has created a unique three-day program leading up to the performance, including a series of Broadway workshops, classes and rehearsals to prepare participants for the once-in-a-lifetime performance. The Camp Broadway Kids represent 16 states and 54 U.S. cities, including the following stops along Camp Broadway's nationwide tour: Atlanta, GA; Buffalo, NY; Greenville, SC; Jacksonville, FL; Las Vegas, Nevada; New York, NY; Providence, RI; Tempe, AZ; and Westhampton Beach, NY.

Please find the entire cast list, along with each member's hometown, listed below.

Sonya Balsara; El Cerrito, CA
Bryce Bayer; E. Carondelet IL
Cristina Bleacher; Atlanta, GA
Brianna Bova; Staten Island, NY
Maggie Brannon; East Aurora, NY
Madeline Burns; Buffalo, NY
Brook Goodman; Memphis, TN
Lydia Grabski; Burke, VA
Tyler Hill; Westhampton Beach, NY
Shelby Houck; Collinsville, IL
Natalie Hunter; Kings Park, NY
Joshua Johnson; Jacksonville, FL
Carmine Mastrokostas; Freehold, NJ
Abby Metz; St. Louis, MO
Connor Olney; Clifton Park, NY
Paulina Pagliughi; Old Bridge, NJ
Sabrina Parsons; Pheonix, AZ
Sarah Pierson; Southampton, NY
Toryn Cairo; Shoreham, NY
Jessica Carino; Great River, NY
Ryan Claffey; New York, NY
HannaH Clark; Stockbridge, GA
Lauren Costello; Putnam Valley, NY
Jaclyn Courter; Milford, NY
Bridget Crisonino; Murray Hill, NJ
Nicholas Drake; St. Louis, MO
Allyson Duarte; Westport, MA
Alley Ellis; Edgartown, MA
Ruthie Evans; Smyrna, GA
Avery Evans; Smyrna, GA
Lauren Fialkow; Scarsdale, NY
Madelene Fialla; New York, NY
Meghan Johnson; Metuchen, NJ
Anjelica Jones; Jacksonville, FL
Mary Elizabeth King; Belden, MS
Amanda Kronhaus; Longwood FL
Kristina Lachaga; Ringoes, NJ
Jade Long; Marietta, GA
Brock Looser; Houston, TX
Alexandra Lopez; Sagaponack, AR
Christian Louca; Dobbs Ferry, NY
Abigayle Luttrell; Springdale, AR
Anna Manoogian; St. Louis, MO
Natalie Manoogian; St. Louis, MO
Savanah Manos; Canton, GA
Bryan Marden; Merrimac, MA
Asiyah Rasheed; Jacksonville, FL
Elliot Rhoads; Reading, PA
Kyra Rieker; Lewiston, NY
KarLee Roberts; North Arlington, NJ
Anna Sera; Scottsdale, AZ
Leighann Shaffer; Portville, NY
Danielle Standifer; Hamilton, NJ
Caitlin Stebelman; St. Louis, MO
Erin Stewart; Las Vegas, NV
Gabrielle Straight; Waterford, NY
Terrell Meridien; Brooklyn, NY
LonDon Wagner; East Point, GA
Elyse Wolford; Acworth, GA

Single tickets to the concert-only are $60 and $90. To purchase, call CarnegieCharge at 212-247-7800, visit the Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th St and 7th Ave, or online at www.carnegiehall.org. For benefit tickets and to support The New York Pops' Kids in the Balcony program, visit www.newyorkpops.org.

Tickets to the full gala evening range from $1,000 (for one concert ticket and dinner seating) to $50,000 (for a premier first tier box and dinner table for eight). For more information about the black-tie benefit dinner dance at The Plaza Hotel, call 212-765-7677 or visit www.newyorkpops.org.

Founded in 1995, CAMP BROADWAY® is Broadway's Original Summer Program for theatre-loving kids. Proclaimed "The Camp of Dreams" by Live Magazine, Camp Broadway has hosted nearly 20,000 children at its annual summer programs in New York City, as well as cities such as Atlanta, Buffalo, Jacksonville, Providence and Tempe. Camp Broadway has been featured on the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade® telecast; performed with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall; and appeared in Broadway on Broadway®. Camp Broadway has worked with dozens of Broadway productions, estates and authors to develop interactive workshops that have enabled over 350,000 children to attend Broadway shows. Since 2000, Camp Broadway LLC has published StageNotes®: A Field Guide for Teachers, a National Core Standards of Education compliant study guide series that features approved curriculum for dozens of Broadway shows. In 2002, Camp Broadway received the Educational Theatre Association's Standing Ovation Award for Leadership in Education. Camp Broadway has created and managed a wide variety of education-based programs including: The Pride Rock Project for Disney Theatrical Productions, Stages for Learning for Dodger Theatrical Productions, On With the Show for Bravo Television Network, Adventure Ocean for Royal Caribbean Cruise Line, Accentuate The Positive for The Johnny Mercer Foundation, The Getting To Know… series for The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, Future Stages for Fidelity Investments and No Snap Judgments for The Addams Family.

The New York Popsis the largest independent pops orchestra in the United States, and the only professional symphonic orchestra in New York City specializing in popular music. Led by Music Director Steven Reineke, the orchestra performs an annual subscription series and birthday gala at Carnegie Hall, enjoying one of their highest subscription renewal rates. The New York Pops was founded by Skitch Henderson in 1983 with a mission to create greater public awareness and appreciation of America's rich musical heritage. Along with performing at Carnegie Hall, The New York Pops tours throughout the world and gives free concerts in New York City parks. The New York Pops' extensive education programs allow thousands of public schoolchildren to participate in concert and music-making experiences at Carnegie Hall and in schools throughout the five boroughs of New York City.

Steven Reineke's boundless enthusiasm and exceptional artistry have made him one of the nation's most sought-after pops conductors, composers and arrangers. Mr. Reineke is Music Director of The New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the newly appointed Principal Pops Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and Principal Pops Conductor of the National Symphony Orchestra at The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He also serves as Principal Pops Conductor of the Long Beach and Modesto Symphony Orchestras through the end of the 2011/2012 season and was Associate Conductor of the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Mr. Reineke is a frequent guest conductor with The Philadelphia Orchestra and in the past year he's been on the podium with the Boston Pops and The Cleveland Orchestra. He makes his Chicago Symphony Orchestra debut on July 4, 2012 at Ravinia. His extensive North American conducting appearances include Los Angeles, Houston, Seattle, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa (National Arts Centre), Detroit, Fort Worth, Jacksonville, Tampa (The Florida Orchestra), Calgary, Memphis and Oklahoma City. Mr. Reineke is also an established symphonic composer, with his works have recently been performed by the New York Philharmonic and Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty are considered the foremost theatrical songwriting team of their generation. They won the Tony Award, Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and received two Grammy nominations, for their score of the Broadway musical Ragtime, and garnered two Academy Award nominations and two Golden Globe nominations for the songs and score of Twentieth Century Fox's animated feature film, Anastasia.

They are co-creators of the Broadway musicals Once On This Island (eight Tony nominations and winner of London's Olivier Award for Best Musical) and Seussical (Grammy nomination), which is now one of the most frequently-performed shows in America. Other award-winning theatre credits include My Favorite Year; A Man of No Importance; Dessa Rose; Lucky Stiff; Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life and The Glorious Ones. They were most recently represented on Broadway with the acclaimed 2009 revival of Ragtime.

Individually, Ms. Ahrens provided co-book and lyrics for the holiday extravaganza A Christmas Carol, which ran for ten seasons at Madison Square Garden; she also wrote its television adaptation for NBC's Hallmark Entertainment Special. She recently wrote text for The Dream Lives On: A Portrait of the Kennedy Brothers – commissioned by the Boston Pops (composer, Peter Boyer). She is a mainstay songwriter and singer for ABC-TV's Schoolhouse Rock, and is an Emmy Award winner and four-time Emmy nominee.

Mr. Flaherty's concert music has premiered at the Hollywood Bowl, Boston's Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Guggenheim Museum and Symphony Space. He is happy to continue his association with The New York Pops, who premiered his American River Suite (text by Bill Schermerhorn) at Carnegie Hall. He wrote incidental music for Neil Simon's play Proposals on Broadway, and the musical score for Loving Repeating: A Musical Of Gertrude Stein (Chicago's Jefferson Award for Best New Musical).

Ahrens and Flaherty are Council members of the Dramatists Guild of America, and co-founders of the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program for Emerging Writers.