Inside Broadway To Receive $25,000 Award From The National Endowment For The Arts

Inside Broadway has been approved by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) for a Grants for Arts Projects award of $25,000.

This grant will support the nonprofit's annual professional touring production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, which returns to New York City public schools starting on January 15th and will tour around the boroughs for the next 12 weeks. The NEA will award 1,127 Grants for Arts Projects awards nationwide totaling more than $31.8 million as part of the recent announcement of fiscal year 2025 grants.

“The NEA is proud to continue our nearly 60 years of supporting the efforts of organizations and artists that help to shape our country's vibrant arts sector and communities of all types across our nation,” said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD. “It is inspiring to see the wide range of creative projects taking place, including Inside Broadway's Annual Touring Production for New York City public school students.”

“We are thrilled to receive this support and award from the NEA, the largest funder of the arts and arts education in communities nationwide and a catalyst of public and private support for the arts,” said Michael Presser, Founder & President of Inside Broadway. “For over 40 years, we've seen first-hand how arts education and live theater can make a lasting impact on a student's pathway in the arts or beyond. With the support of the NEA's grant, many of these NYC students will have the opportunity to experience a professional touring production directly in their local school auditoriums, many of whom have never had the opportunity to see live theater in-person.”

Inside Broadway will host the first performance of its 2025 professional touring production at P.S. 78X in the Bronx, kicking off a 12-week tour to more than 45 public schools across the five boroughs from January to March 2025. This year's production will present You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, the musical based on the beloved comic strip by Charles M. Schulz. This tour is also funded by The New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and The New York City Council as a part of the Council's CASA grant program.

With book, music and lyrics by Clark Gesner and additional music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown follows Charlie Brown and the entire Peanuts gang as they explore life's great questions while playing baseball, struggling with homework, singing songs, swooning over their crushes, and celebrating the joy of friendship.

Inside Broadway's 45 minute productions are specially designed to fit into a class period and connect to the curriculum. They are created by theater professionals and performed by professional actors and live musicians. Previous productions have included On The Town, Smokey Joe's Café, Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Ladies, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella, The Pirates of Penzance, Kiss Me, Kate, Bye Bye, Birdie, Irving Berlin's Land That I Love, The Gershwins' Real Magic, Rodgers and Hammerstein's All Kinds Of People, and George M. Cohan's My Town.

For more information on other projects included in the NEA's grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.