Tim Federle Hosts Shubert Foundation and MTI Broadway's Junior Student Celebration Today

Tim Federle, Broadway performer and author of Simon & Schuster's, Better Nate Than Ever, (a New York Times Editor's Choice), will serve as Master of Ceremonies as hundreds of students from middle and intermediate New York City Public Schools make their Broadway debut on stage at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 W. 44 St.) today, June 3rd at 10:30 a.m. (Press set up at 9:30 a.m.; select pre-show photo ops at 10 a.m.).

This is the culminating event of the 8th annual Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Student Program. Students from Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Manhattan will perform a song from their school's production of a student version of a Broadway musical, including Annie JR., Once On This Island JR., The Pirates Of Penzance JR., Disney's The Little Mermaid JR., Bugsy Malone JR., Disney's High School Musical JR., Dear Edwina JR., Fame JR., Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka JR. and Fiddler On The Roof JR.

The Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program is a ground-breaking musical theatre mentorship program which builds self-sustaining theater programs in public schools that have limited arts programming. The program is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, Music Theatre International (MTI) and The New York City Department of Education. This student celebration is produced by New York City's educational musical theatre consulting firm iTheatrics. Use of The Broadhurst Theatre has been provided by The Shubert Organization.

Among those expected to be on hand in celebration of the 2013 Broadway Junior Program will be Robert E. Wankel, Co-CEO and President of The Shubert Organization; Dorita Gibson, Deputy Chancellor of the New York City Department of Education; and Freddie Gershon, Chairman and CEO of MTI, creator of the MTI Broadway Junior Program and a recipient of the 2012 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre.

The Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program aims to engage as many students as possible in all aspects and areas of the arts. In the first year of the program, teachers and students are guided step-by-step through the process of producing a first-ever musical in their schools. In the second year, teachers and students continue to receive support and encouragement on their second musical, but take ownership over their productions. In the third year and beyond, schools present a musical independently, and serve as inspiration for other schools involved in earlier cycles of the program.

This student performance will include the debut of the first-ever Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Musical Theatre Ensemble. Twenty-three students from six different schools that have "graduated" from the Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program will perform a finale of "To Life" from Fiddler On The Roof JR. The schools represented by the students participating in this finale performance have participated in Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program for at least four years-highlighting the success of the program in supporting sustainable arts education programs.

The Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program was founded during the 2005-2006 school year. To date, 40 schools have participated in the program. Twenty-seven schools are currently involved in the 2012-2013 program, including seven first-year schools, six second-year schools, and 11 'graduated' schools that have worked to develop and build sustainable theater education programs.

Many of the students participating in the Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program had not ever seen a musical prior to their involvement in the program. Now, choruses of "Tomorrow, Tomorrow" from Annie JR. by Thomas Meehan, Charles Strouse, and Martin Charnin and "Why We Tell the Story" from Once On This Island JR. by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty soar down public school hallways as students rehearse. In addition to performing a selection from a musical on Broadway at the June 3rd event, each school will present a full musical in its community.

During this academic year, teachers from participating schools attended three Professional Development workshops which took them step-by-step through the process of putting on a show in their communities. The teachers then returned to their schools, selected their musical, held auditions and cast the show. Later in the year, each first-year school's cast participated in an in-school musical workshop with master teachers from iTheatrics. Students were guided through the entire process by a production advisor provided by ArtsConnection, a partnering organization that supported schools throughout the process.

New York City Public Schools Participating in June 3rd Performance on Broadway:

Schools in the First Year of Program

MS 145 Arturo Toscanini in Bronx, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Annie JR.

Collaborative Arts Middle School in Queens, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Once On This Island JR.

MS 447 Math and Science Exploratory School in Brooklyn, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Fame JR.

Village Academy in Queens, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Once On This Island JR.

PEACE Academy in Brooklyn, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Once On This Island JR.

MS 22 College Avenue Academy in Bronx, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Fame JR.

MS 364 Gateway Intermediate School in Brooklyn, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Annie JR.

Schools in the Second Year of Program

Young Women's Leadership School in Brooklyn, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Dear Edwina JR.

MS 61K Dr. Gladstone H. Atwell in Brooklyn, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Disney's The Little Mermaid JR.

MS 634 General Chappie MS of Science in Brooklyn, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Once On This Island JR.

Soundview Academy for Culture & Scholarship in Bronx, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka JR.

MS 219 New Venture Academy in Bronx, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Fame JR.

MS 584 in Brooklyn, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Bugsy Malone JR.

Schools in the Third Year of Program

Edward Bleeker JHS 185 in Queens, NY - students will perform a number from the musical The Pirates Of Penzance JR.

Renaissance School of the Arts in Manhattan, NY students will perform a number from the musical Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka JR.

PS/IS 323 in Brooklyn, NY - students will perform a number from the musical Disney's High School Musical JR.

First annual Shubert Foundation MTI Musical Theater Ensemble

Select students from six (6) "graduated" schools will perform "To Life" from the musical Fiddler On The Roof JR. as an ensemble:

IS 220 John J. Pershing in Brooklyn, NY

JHS 80 The Mosholu Parkway School in Bronx, NY

MS 057 Ron Brown Academy in Brooklyn, NY

MS 072 Catherine and Count Basie in Jamaica, Queens, NY

MS 442 New Horizons School in Brooklyn, NY

PS/MS 004 Crotona Park West in Bronx, NY

The New York City Department of Education is the largest system of public schools in the United States, serving about 1.1 million students in more than 1,750 schools. The Department of Education supports universal access to arts education through the ArtsCount initiative, which tracks and reports student participation in arts education and holds schools accountable for meeting New York State Instructional Requirements for the Arts. For more information, visit www.nyc.gov/schools.

Since 2005, The Shubert Foundation has provided more than $2.3 million to the New York City Department of Education for Arts Education/Theatre programs. This year marks the Foundation's eighth year providing funds for The Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior program. The Shubert Foundation, Inc. is the nation's largest private foundation dedicated to unrestricted funding of not-for-profit theatres, with a secondary focus on dance, and is especially interested in professional resident theatres that develop and produce new and significant work that expands the American theatrical repertoire. The Foundation is also committed to making quality theatre accessible nationwide, by extending support to theatre companies and groups that work on behalf of the underserved populations. The Shubert Foundation, Inc. was established in 1945 by the legendary team of the brothers Lee and J.J. Shubert who produced more than 520 plays, musicals and revues as well as owned and operated a nationwide network of legitimate theatres. For more information, visit www.shubertfoundation.org.

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting schools as well as amateur and professional theatres from around the world the rights to perform the largest selection of great musicals from Broadway and beyond. MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these shows to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 60,000 theatrical organizations in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide. MTI is particularly dedicated to the idea of theatre as education and has created special collections for younger performers. The MTI Broadway Junior Collection includes JR. titles, 60-minute musicals for performance by middle school children; and KIDS titles, 30-minute musicals for performance by elementary school children. For more information, visit www.mtishows.com.