Disney Musicals in Schools Puts Students in the Spotlight on the PPAC Stage
The Providence Performing Arts Center is among 21 arts organizations in the world collaborating with Disney Musicals in Schools.
Providence, RI – On Wednesday, June 10, 2026, more than 140 elementary and middle school students from Coventry, Cranston, Pawtucket, and Providence will have the extraordinary opportunity to sing and dance on stage at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) as the result of a grant awarded to the PPAC by Disney.
The grant from Disney enables PPAC to offer the Disney Musicals in Schools program to schools in Central Falls, Coventry, Cranston, Cumberland, East Providence, North Providence, Pawtucket, Providence, Warwick, West Warwick, and Woonsocket. The program is designed to create sustainable theater programs in public elementary and middle schools. Through the program, participating schools produce a Disney KIDS or Disney JR. musical in their school community and join in a culminating performance at PPAC.
Participating Schools:
- Achievement First Iluminar Mayoral Academy Elementary School – Cranston
- Governor Christopher DelSesto Middle School – Providence
- Joseph Jenks Middle School – Pawtucket
- Tiogue Elementary School – Coventry
- Veazie Street Elementary School – Providence
The selected elementary schools participated in a 17-week musical theater residency, while the selected middle schools participated in a 22-week musical theater residency. All residencies were led by a team of teaching artists trained by PPAC and Disney Theatrical Group and were provided at no cost to the schools.
Each participating school received performance rights, educational support materials and guidance from the teaching artists. The program featured a professional development focus, through which participating school teachers partnered with PPAC teaching artists to learn how to produce, direct, choreograph and music direct a show, culminating in their first 30-minute Disney KIDS or 60-minute Disney JR. musical at their school. Elementary school students staged Aladdin KIDS at Achievement First Iluminar Mayoral Academy Elementary School in Cranston, The Lion King KIDS at Tiogue Elementary School in Coventry and Finding Nemo KIDS at Veazie Street Elementary Schol in Providence. Middle school productions included Alice in Wonderland JR. at Governor Christopher DelSesto Middle School and Aladdin JR. at Joseph Jenks Middle School.
The Disney Musicals in Schools Student Share Celebration on June 10th is the culmination of this year’s program. Each school will perform a selection from their chosen Disney KIDS or Disney JR. musical to celebrate the students’ and teachers’ hard work and dedication.
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 collaborating 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, and Winnie the Pooh.
Disney JR musicals, also created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are 60-minute musicals designed for middle school performers and have been adapted from the classic Disney films Alice in Wonderland, Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo, High School Musical, Mary Poppins, Newsies, and Pinocchio.
Located in the heart of Providence’s arts and entertainment district, the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) presents top-notch touring Broadway productions, comedy shows and concerts. Since 2008, 24 national tours have launched at PPAC. OPERATION MINCEMEAT: A NEW MUSICAL will be the 25th when it launches in September 2026.
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 historic home of PPAC, opened in October 1928 and is acclaimed for its stunning architectural design and grandeur. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1977, PPAC consistently ranks among the top ten entertainment venues of its size nationwide, according to Pollstar /Venues Now and Billboard Magazine.
In addition to presenting all types of theatrical presentations, dance, comedy, concerts and more, PPAC is committed to providing the communities of Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts with extensive educational and community outreach and engagement programs.
DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP, a division of The Walt Disney Studios, was formed in 1994 and operates under the direction of Andrew Flatt and Anne Quart. Worldwide, its ten Broadway titles have been seen by more than 200 million theatregoers and have been nominated for 62 Tony Awards®, winning Broadway’s highest honor 20 times. The company’s inaugural production, Beauty and the Beast, opened in 1994, playing a remarkable 13-year run on Broadway and continues to be produced in replica productions around the world. In November 1997 Disney made theatrical history with the opening of The Lion King, which received six 1998 Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Director, Julie Taymor, who became the first woman in Broadway history to win the award. Approaching 30 landmark years on Broadway, it has welcomed over 124 million visitors worldwide to date and has multiple productions currently running worldwide. Within Disney Theatrical Group’s first three decades, under the leadership of Thomas Schumacher, The Lion King has played over 100 cities in 24 countries on every continent except Antarctica and its worldwide gross exceeds that of any film, Broadway show or entertainment title in box office history. Elton John and Tim Rice’s Aida opened on Broadway next, winning four 2000 Tony Awards. It was followed by Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, which opened in London in 2004 and went on to enjoy a six-year Tony-winning Broadway run. TARZAN®, Tony-nominated for its 2006 Broadway premiere, went on to become an international hit with an award-winning production enjoying a ten-year run in Germany. In January 2008, The Little Mermaid opened on Broadway and was the best-selling new musical of that year. Disney Theatrical Group opened two critically acclaimed productions on Broadway in 2012, winning seven Tony Awards between them: Peter and the Starcatcher and Newsies, each of which enjoyed a two-year run and launched a North American tour, with Newsies playing a record-breaking Fathom Events in-cinema release. Disney Theatrical Group’s 2014 hit, Aladdin, continues its smash Broadway run, having launched eleven productions on four continents and been seen by more than 21 million guests. Disney Theatrical Group’s newest hit, the 2018 Tony-nominated Best Musical Frozen, has launched eight productions around the world with a filmed version of the stage musical currently available on Disney+. Other stage ventures include King David in concert on Broadway, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame in Berlin, stage productions of Disney’s High School Musical and the Olivier-nominated West End hit Shakespeare in Love. Disney Theatrical Group has collaborated with preeminent theatres in the US to develop new stage musicals including The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Freaky Friday. As a part of the recent acquisition of 20th Century Studios, Disney Theatrical also heads the Buena Vista theatrical banner, which licenses Fox titles for stage adaptations including Anastasia; Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Mrs. Doubtfire. Disney Theatrical Group recently premiered Hercules in London’s West End and a North American tour production of Beauty and the Beast. The stage adaptation of the beloved film The Greatest Showman recently opened in Bristol, United Kingdom to box office records, with the next step in its life to be announced shortly. In addition to theatrical stage productions, Disney Theatrical Group licenses and manages Location-Based Entertainment (LBE) experiences for The Walt Disney Company, including Disney On Ice, Mundo Pixar, Disney Junior Live On Tour, and The Nightmare Before Christmas Light Trail, expanding the magic of Disney storytelling into immersive environments worldwide. With dozens of stage productions and live ticketed events currently being produced or licensed, a Disney live experience is taking place somewhere around the globe virtually every hour of the day.
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 100,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 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 with additional offices in London (MTI Europe) and Melbourne (MTI Australasia).