For The First Time...
My choreography was performed on a Broadway Stage! The Broadhurst Theatre showcased my choreography for the Shubert Foundations’ High School Theatre Festival, performed by AARP’s Wish of a Lifetime recipient; Howard Shapiro and the entire Theatre Festival ensemble!
Guest Broadway Presenters Include
DANNY BURSTEIN, JUSTIN COOLEY, LATOYA EDWARDS, AMELIA FEI,
BILL IRWIN, MICHAEL ISKANDER, KATRINA LENK, APOLLO LEVINE,
TONY SHALHOUB & BEN JACKSON WALKER
(New York, NY) – More than 100 talented young NYC public school theatre artists will make their Broadway debuts in The Shubert Foundation’s 2023 High School Theatre Festival for NYC Public Schools on Monday, March 20 at 7:30pm at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). This annual theatre education experience for NYC students is presented by The Shubert Foundation and the NYC Department of Education Arts Office.
Adrianna Hicks (Some Like It Hot) and J. Harrison Ghee (Some Like It Hot) will host this year’s ninth annual event. Additional guest presenters, supporting public school theatre education, will include Danny Burstein (Pictures From Home), Justin Cooley (Kimberly Akimbo), Latoya Edwards (White Girl in Danger), Amelia Fei (How To Dance in Ohio), Bill Irwin (Endgame), Michael Iskander (Kimberly Akimbo), Katrina Lenk (Company), Apollo Levine (MJ the Musical), Tony Shalhoub (The Band’s Visit) and Ben Jackson Walker (& Juliet).
The festival celebrates five outstanding high school student productions from the 2022-23 school year, selected from more than 20 productions across the city by professional theatre artists and theatre educators. Over the course of the festival’s nine-year history, school productions from all five boroughs have performed at the event.
This year, student presentations from the following schools will present excerpted scenes and musical numbers in order as follows:
RENT – Professional Performing Arts High School (Manhattan)
The Band’s Visit – William Cullen Bryant High School (Queens)
The Crucible – Fordham High School of the Arts (Bronx)
School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play – The Beacon School (Manhattan)
Carrie, The Musical – Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (Queens)
Additionally, the Shubert Theatre Festival and producer Avery are pleased to announce a special cameo event supporting AARP’s Wish of a Lifetime as Nevada resident Howard Shapiro (age 74) fulfills his dream to perform on a Broadway stage. Howard, backed by 26 participating Festival teen artists will perform “To Life” from the Broadway musical Fiddler On The Roof and share his story of overcoming obstacles and perseverance as an older adult and member of the LGBTQ+ community. “The theatre enabled me to feel more comfortable and come out of my shell, I could express myself fully for the first time. I am honored to perform alongside such talented young people and to share my story with them. I want them to know how fortunate they are to have such opportunities that I never even knew existed,” said Howard Shapiro, wish recipient, Wish of a Lifetime from AARP.
