Pushcart Players Celebrates 45th Anniversary Honoring Larry Hochman

Pushcart Players, the Garden State's premier touring educational theater for families commemorates its 45th year of bringing something special to every young audience with a celebration at The Crosby, Montclair on Sunday, October 13, 2019.

In celebrating the milestone event, Pushcart is honoring award winning composer and orchestrator, Larry Hochman. His career spans over 40 years and encompasses theater, film, recordings, concerts, television, and video games. Most well known as for his work in theater, Larry has orchestrated over a hundred musicals. His first opportunity to orchestrate a show was Pushcart'sEmmy-Nominated TV special, Friends and Feelings in 1977, and one of his most recent is The Velveteen Rabbit, which Larry celebrates as his 22nd show with Pushcart Players.

Beginning his Broadway experience in 1974 as a pit pianist for Pippin, Larry has become one of The Great White Way's most established musicians. His 18 Broadway shows as orchestrator include Spamalot, The Addams Family, Pippin (2013 Revival),The Scottsboro Boys, Jane Eyre, Something Rotten, She Loves Me, and The Prom. He has won the Tony Award (The Book of Mormon), two Drama Desk Awards, and The Outer Critics Circle Award (Hello Dolly). This year he received his 9th Tony Award Nomination, for his orchestration of Kiss Me Kate, also his 9th Emmy nomination, as composer for PBS's Peg + Cat.

"We are enormously grateful to Larry for his exceptional work over the years," said Paul Whelihan, Pushcart Players' producing artistic director. "While he's become a celebrity in the various mediums in which he creates, he continues to bring his talents to Pushcart's family audiences nationwide. And we're proud to call him 'friend!'"

Pushcart Players is the award-winning professional touring theater company specializing in arts education for children. Twice nominated for an Emmy©, Pushcart is the recipient of numerous state and private awards for excellence and innovation. Founded in 1974, Pushcart brings substantive musical theater, workshops, and residencies to young people in schools and theaters nationwide. The company has traveled more than 2.5 million miles nationally and abroad, from the rural red schoolhouse to the nation's White House.

Pushcart Players pioneered the movement to make the arts a central part of the school curriculum, and continues to be in the vanguard of this commitment. The company provides opportunities for meaningful arts learning in its 33 wonderful, wildly original musical plays and myriad classes for young learners. Both the plays and classes introduce the joy and magic of the live theater experience while underscoring many rich curriculum connections such as history, diversity, equity, inclusion, human values, science, responsible behavior, and social value clarification issues.

All performances by professional artists and technicians (Actors' Equity Association) are supported by study guides, post-performance assessments and other supplemental materials, and adapt to any location with innovative scenery, lighting and sound systems.

Pushcart has a significant theater education program, providing in-school workshops, direction of student productions and curriculum development for elementary and middle schools. Pushcart cast members are experienced teaching artists, and provide workshops, acting classes and residency programs to schools, community centers and summer session programs.

The 45th Anniversary Celebration takes place at The Crosby, 193 Glenridge Avenue from 12:00 to 3:00 pm. Guests will enjoy a complete brunch and have the opportunity to participate in a silent auction of items ranging from local spa treatments, to Norman Rockwell prints, to New Jersey Theater packages.

Tickets to the event may be reserved by calling Pushcart at 973-857-1115, or may be purchased online at www.pushcartplayers.org/celebrate.

As a social-profit organization, Pushcart Players' programs are made possible in part by The Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey, NJ State Council on the Arts/Department of State, The Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, Pine Tree Foundation of New York, Actors' Equity Foundation, Community Foundation of NJ, ADP Foundation, The Community Foundation of NJ, EJ Grassmann Trust, Hyde & Watson Foundation, The Montclair Foundation, NJ Bar Foundation, Park West Foundation, PNC Bank/Lillian Schenck Foundation, The Turrell Fund, The Puffin Foundation, The Whitehill Foundation and numerous individual contributors.

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