Broadway in Hawaii Announced the Recipients of Their Broadway Education Fund

Broadway in Hawaii announced the recipients of their Broadway Education Fund, donating a portion of the sale of each ticket sold for the wildly popular Phantom of the Opera tour, The Illusionists- Live from Broadway and RENT, the 20th anniversary tour. There are gifts to sixteen performing arts organizations totaling over $30,000, part of a series of outreach projects for the community that also included tickets for students who might not otherwise be able to attend a Broadway show. Broadway in Hawaii believes that the best way for a community to grow audiences Is when it invests in programs that expose young people to all aspects of the theatrical arts. In addition to the monetary gifts, they presented a masterclass with the dance captains from PHANTOM, as well as a chat back session with students during the run. Members of the RENT Anniversary Tour production and casting team visited Hawaii in March and hosted an audition master class giving twenty participants one-on-one feedback on how to land a touring Broadway role. There was a question and answer session, followed by real-world instruction on how to prepare for auditions including what casting directors look for. Students from various high schools, universities and other performing arts groups were invited to attend as observers. This was followed by an open casting call that resulted in the casting of local artist Zare Anguay for the national tour, who will appear in the show in Honolulu in December.

"We cannot expect to have a robust Broadway and Touring Broadway audience without the work of great local organizations like those we are supporting with our education fund. Our hats are off to them," adds Kristy Maple of Broadway in Hawaii.

The recipients of this year's Broadway in Hawaii Education fund include the Alliance for Drama Education, Aloha Performing Arts Company, Baldwin Performing Arts Learning Center, Castle Performing Arts Center, Hawaii Children's Theatre, Honolulu Theatre for Youth, Friends of Kennedy Theatre, Kaimuki High School Performing Arts Center, Manoa Valley Theatre, Nanakuli High and Intermediate School Performing Arts Center, University of Hawai'i - Leeward Community College Theatre, University of Hawai'i - Windward Community College/Paliku, Kumu Kahua Theatre, Performing Arts Center of Kapolei and Play Builders of Hawaii Theater Company. We will continue to offer student discounts as part of the ongoing effort to bring world-class art to the Honolulu community as part of other outreach that will also include master classes and chat backs.