PPAC and Disney Offer Free Streaming Performance of Disney's NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL to RI School Districts
Providence, RI – The Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC) and Disney are teaming up to offer middle and high school students in grades six through 12 in the following Rhode Island school districts free access to a pre-recorded streaming performance of DISNEY’S NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL: Providence, Central Falls, Pawtucket, Chariho, Cranston, Foster-Glocester, Johnston, Middletown, Block Island, Tiverton, and Woonsocket. Streaming access will be available to these classrooms from April 1 - 30, 2021; registration is required. PPAC is distributing registration information to eligible classrooms. Educators in the listed school districts may contact Dana Brazil, PPAC’s Outreach and Engagement Director, at 401-574-3121 or dbrazil@ppacri.org with questions.
With the impact of the pandemic on theaters and schools, Disney is committed to innovating new ways for students to remain engaged with the performing arts. By providing this NEWSIES Virtual Fieldtrip, Disney is investing in the next generation of storytellers and inspiring them to create the futures they imagine. March is Theater in Our Schools Month - and now more than ever - students and teachers will benefit from the connection and engagement offered by events like this.
“Throughout this season, PPAC has been committed to providing Rhode Island students with access to the performing arts; we have been able to accomplish this mission by sharing the arts in a virtual format,” said Dana Brazil, PPAC’s Outreach and Engagement Director. “This virtual fieldtrip to PPAC to watch NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL is a fantastic opportunity for students to feel inspired and to ‘seize the day.’”
“Since the onset of the pandemic, we have been working to find creative and accessible ways to provide our content free to students and educators,” said Lisa Mitchell, Disney Theatrical Group’s Director of Education & Audience Engagement. “Earlier this year, we offered a virtually accessible version of The Lion King Experience, a unique holistic arts education program that provides students and educators an immersive introduction to theater-making through the lens of the Broadway production of The Lion King. We are now thrilled to offer NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL as a virtual field trip to 20 markets across the country in partnership with non-profit performing arts centers, including PPAC. They have an excellent reputation for delivering quality education programs, and we are excited to have them introduce this energetic and inspirational production to their students.”
ABOUT DISNEY’S NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL
NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award®-winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. NEWSIES is directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work on the show. Since opening on Broadway in 2011, NEWSIES has played 1,711 performances between Broadway and the North American tour, to more than 2.5 million audience members in 65 cities across the country.
In 2017, “Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical!” made its premiere in-cinemas nationwide. Captured live at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, the film features original Broadway cast members, Jeremy Jordan,” as Jack Kelly, Kara Lindsay as Katherine, Ben Fankhauser as Davey and Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie, and NEWSIES North American Tour stars Steve Blanchard as Joseph Pulitzer, Aisha de Haas as Medda Larkin, and Ethan Steiner as Les.
“Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical!” is currently streaming on Disney +.
Set in New York City at the turn of the century, NEWSIES is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged ‘newsies,’ who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what’s right.
DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP (DTG) operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher and is among the world’s most successful commercial theatre producers, bringing live entertainment events to a global audience of more than 20 million people a year in more than 50 countries. Under the Disney Theatrical Group banner, 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. Other successful stage musical ventures have included 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. DTG has collaborated with the nation’s preeminent theatres to develop new stage titles including The Jungle Book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Freaky Friday and Hercules. As a part of the recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox, DTP also heads the Buena Vista Theatrical banner which licenses Fox titles for stage adaptations including Anastasia; Moulin Rouge! The Musical; Mrs. Doubtfire and The Devil Wears Prada.
Disney Theatrical Group also delivers live shows globally through its license to Feld Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Marvel Universe Live!, bringing beloved Disney stories and characters annually to over 12 million guests in nearly 50 countries worldwide. In addition, DTG licenses musical titles for local, school and community theatre productions through Music Theatre International, including The Lion King Experience, a unique holistic arts education program wherein accredited elementary and middle schools produce condensed, age-appropriate JR. and KIDS adaptations of The Lion King.
ABOUT DISNEY CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
At Disney, corporate social responsibility refers to our commitment to operate our businesses in an honorable and ethical manner along with our philanthropic efforts to bring comfort, inspiration, and opportunity to families around the world. As part of these efforts, Disney is also committed to supporting the next generation of innovators and storytellers. Through a diverse suite of programs and investments, Disney is bridging opportunity gaps for youth and providing inspiration and opportunity for them to reach their full potential and create the future they imagine. To learn more about how Disney supports the next generation, visit https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/investments-in-youth/.
ABOUT THE PROVIDENCE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER
The Providence Performing Arts Center, located in the heart of Providence’s arts and entertainment district, presents a full roster of Broadway national touring productions and contemporary engagements. PPAC is a 3100 seat, world class venue that is the second largest theatre of its kind in the country. Since 2008, twenty national tours have launched at PPAC. The Loew’s Theatre Building, which is the historic home of PPAC, opened in 1928 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. To learn more about PPAC, visit ppacri.org
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PPAC Media Contacts
P.J. Prokop, Director of Marketing: (401) 574-3103 • pjprokop@ppacri.org
Caitlyn DiPompo, Marketing Projects Specialist: (401) 574-3112 • cdipompo@ppacri.org