Florida Rep Education Announces its New Season

Florida Rep Education is proud to present its 2018-2019 Season filled with classic stories brought to the stage, electrifying Broadway musicals, a world premiere, and brand new competitive programming adjudicated by the industry's leading professionals!

"This year's education season places a thematic focus on journey and the struggles and joys one faces when overcoming the challenges of that journey," said Education Director Kody C. Jones. "Everyone's journey leaves a mark on us as a human as well as a mark on the world around us. With this season we challenge our students and patrons to reflect on their own journey as we navigate the trials and tribulations every young person faces in life as they mature in to adulthood."

New this season, Florida Rep Education is proud to announce that it will participate in the 2019 Junior Theatre Festival in Atlanta, GA. The Junior Theatre Festival is the world's largest celebration of young people performing musical theatre. Florida Rep Education will bring 30 students from the Southwest Florida area to Atlanta to gather with peers from across 40 states and 6 countries. The Festival is a mix of adjudications, workshops for students and teachers, and special events like the "New Works Showcase" and "Direct From Broadway," where Broadway's best share their talents.

"Our Education Associate, Christina DeCarlo, has initiated a groundbreaking idea that will lead to a career-changing opportunity for our young actors," Jones said. Past attendees and performers of JTF included Tony-, Golden Globe-, and Academy Award-winning songwriters, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul; Emmy nominee Darren Criss; 11-time Grammy Award-winning musical theatre and film score composer Alan Menken; and critically acclaimed, Tony Award-winning songwriting duo Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

Education programs have grown exponentially in the past few seasons, and reach upwards of 35,000 young people and families each year. Overseen by Education Director Kody C. Jones, the department continues to educate, excite, and enlighten Southwest Florida audiences as our popular programs thrive and new ones take shape.

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THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES TOUR

THE CAT IN THE HAT
Originally Produced by The National Theatre of Great Britain
Adapted and Originally Directed by Katie Mitchell
Based on the book by Dr. Seuss
Available as either a touring show or field trip for your school
A beloved classic! Watch the troublemaking Cat in the Hat perform incredible tricks and produce wondrous items to entertain Sally, her brother, and the frustrated little pet fish during one rainy day.

REFUGEE
A World Premiere
Based on the New York Times Bestselling Book Written by Alan Gratz
Adapted by Eric Coble
Available as either a touring show or field trip for your school
Three different kids. One mission in common: escape. Josef is a Jewish boy in 1930s Nazi Germany. Isabel is a Cuban girl in riotous 1994. Mahmoud is a Syrian boy in 2015. All three young people will go on harrowing journeys in search of refuge. And although Josef, Isabel, and Mahmoud are separated by continents and decades, surprising connections will tie their stories together in the end.

ROMEO AND JULIET
Based on the play by William Shakespeare
Adapted by Bill Kincaid
Available as a touring show
The ancient tale of star-cross'd lovers whose struggling passion for each other brings fatal consequences that ultimately reconcile their feuding families.

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CONSERVATORY

Disney's NEWSIES: THE MUSICAL
Music by Alan Menken
Lyrics by Jack Feldman
Book by Harvey Fierstein
Based on the 1992 film of the same name
Spring 2019 · In the Historic Arcade Theatre
This Tony Award-Winning high-energy musical, inspired by real events, tells the plight of young newspaper sellers to make ends meet in 1899 New York City. When newspaper owners start to exploit their labor beyond reason, Jack Kelly and his band of newsies rise up and face the ruthless Joseph Pulitzer.

SPRING AWAKENING
Book and Lyrics by Steven Sater
Music by Duncan Sheik
Summer 2019 · In the Historic Arcade Theatre
The winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, told by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater through what Entertainment Weekly called, "the most gorgeous Broadway score this decade," Spring Awakening explores the journey from adolescence to adulthood with a poignancy and passion that is illuminating and unforgettable. The landmark musical is an electrifying fusion of morality, sexuality and rock and roll that is exhilarating audiences across the nation like no other musical in years.

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NEW PROGRAMMING!
SHOW ON THE GO
2019 Junior Theatre Festival Entry

Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's
MARY POPPINS, JR.
Original Music and Lyrics by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman
Book by Julian Fellowes
New Songs and Additional Music and Lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe
Co-Created by Cameron Mackintosh
Based on one of the most popular Disney movies of all time and the Broadway musical that played for over 2,500 performances and received multiple Olivier and Tony Awards nominations, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins JR. is an enchanting mixture of irresistible story, unforgettable songs and breathtaking dance numbers. This program is for ages 8-15 that focuses on touring performances and collaborative competition!

Florida Rep Education performs in several venues on tour and in the Historic Arcade Theatre on Bay Street between Jackson and Hendry with limited free parking in the Fort Myers River District. Visit Florida Rep Education online at FloridaRepEducation.org, and by following the Education Department on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat.

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