Disney Musicals In Schools Puts Students in the Spotlight on the PPAC Stage
The Providence Performing Arts Center is among 26 arts organizations in the world collaborating with Disney Theatrical Group to bring Disney Musicals In Schools to communities
Providence, RI – On June 3, 2024, 159 Rhode Island elementary school students from Central Falls, Cumberland, Warwick and Pawtucket will have the extraordinary opportunity to sing, dance and act on the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) stage as the result of a grant awarded to PPAC by Disney.
This year, the grant from Disney enabled PPAC to offer the Disney Musicals In Schools program to three new elementary schools: Ella Risk Elementary School in Central Falls, Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary School 2 in Cumberland and Norwood Elementary School in Warwick. Elizabeth Baldwin Elementary School in Pawtucket is returning to the program with a new teaching team. The Disney Musicals in School program is designed to create sustainable theater programming in elementary schools. Through the program, participating schools produce a Disney KIDS musical in their school community and join in a culminating performance at PPAC.
The selected schools participated in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of eight teaching artists trained by PPAC and Disney Theatrical Group, at no cost. Each school received performance rights, educational support materials and guidance from the teaching artists.
The program featured a professional development focus, through which participating schoolteachers partnered with PPAC teaching artists to learn how to produce, direct, choreograph and music direct, culminating in their first 30-minute Disney KIDS musical at their school. Ella Risk Elementary School, Blackstone Valley Prep Elementary School 2 and Norwood Elementary School performed Finding Nemo KIDS and Elizabeth Baldwin Elementary School put on Frozen KIDS.
The Student Share Celebration on June 3 is the culmination of this year’s program; each school will perform an excerpt from their productions. The Celebration will open with all Disney Musicals in Schools student participants performing the special production number “It Starts with a Dream,” written by Disney composer Alan Menken.
Disney Musicals in Schools was launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Group’s concern that under-resourced public elementary schools were not afforded equitable access to the arts. After successfully offering the program in New York City schools, Disney Theatrical Group began partnering with organizations in other communities across the United States.
Disney KIDS musicals, created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are 30-minute musicals designed for elementary school performers and have been adapted from the classic Disney films 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Frozen, The Aristocats, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, Winnie the Pooh and Finding Nemo.
THE PROVIDENCE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER (PPAC) presents touring Broadway productions and some of the biggest names in comedy and concerts. PPAC is committed to providing the community with the highest quality in performances and learning opportunities to enrich the lives of students, educators and families.
PPAC’s outreach and engagement programs offer valuable opportunities for students in grades K – 12 to engage in the arts while developing critical thinking skills. Educational outreach and engagement programs include Arts Showcase, Arts Scholarships, Disney Musicals in Schools, Experience PPAC, From Books to Broadway, the Reignite Professional Development Series and more; for additional information, visit ppacri.org/outreach
Located in the heart of Providence’s arts and entertainment district, PPAC is the second largest theatre of its kind in New England, with a seating capacity of 3100. The Loew’s Theatre Building, which is the historical home of PPAC, opened in October 1928 and has been acclaimed for its beauty and grandeur. PPAC is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It consistently has been ranked as one of the top ten entertainment venues of its size in the United States by industry publications, Pollstar, Billboard Magazine and VenuesNow.
DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP, a division of The Walt Disney Studios, operates under the direction of Andrew Flatt, Anne Quart and Thomas Schumacher. The group produces and licenses Broadway productions around the world, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida, TARZAN®, Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, Aladdin, and Frozen, winning 20 Tony® Awards and 62 nominations for their Broadway productions. Other stage ventures include the Olivier-nominated London hit Shakespeare in Love, stage productions of Disney’s High School Musical, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame in Berlin and King David in concert on Broadway. Disney Theatrical Group has collaborated with the nation’s preeminent theatres to develop new stage musicals including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Freaky Friday and Hercules. As a part of the recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney Theatrical Group also heads the Buena Vista Theatrical banner, which licenses Fox titles for stage adaptations including Anastasia, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Mrs. Doubtfire. Next on the Disney Theatrical schedule: the world-premiere of Hercules in Hamburg, Germany and the North American tour of a reimagined production of Beauty and The Beast in 2025.
Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser, and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.
MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 70,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.
MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior™ shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.
MTI maintains its global headquarters in New York City (mtishows.com), with additional offices in London (MTI Europe: mtishows.co.uk, mtishows.eu), and Melbourne (MTI Australia: mtishows.com.au).
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