Experience PPAC
Experience PPAC is a statewide education initiative that launched during the 2019-2020 season at the Providence Performing Arts Center. This program enables 10th grade students from across Rhode Island to attend matinee performances of select touring Broadway productions with their high school at no cost, with busing reimbursed.
Schools can register for one performance per year, and they must arrange for their own transportation. PPAC will reimburse the busing costs for groups of 20 students or more attending our performances. You must submit these invoices to brinaldi@ppacri.org within 60 days of the performance your school attended to be reimbursed for the cost of your busing. Please note: PPAC is NOT responsible for any busing costs incurred due to last-minute changes within 48 hours of the performance.
If your school is having difficulty acquiring buses, and need assistance in facilitating transportation, please contact:
Dana Brazil
Director of Education, Outreach & Engagement
dbrazil@ppacri.org
(401) 574-3132
Working in close partnership with each school district, Experience PPAC supports the core curriculum work that teachers and students are doing in the classroom, bringing it to life through this experiential learning opportunity. Show specific study guides will be provided to registrants (when available) prior to attending their selected performance so that they may engage with the educational material, creative concepts, and lessons before the show. Additionally, details on theatre etiquette will be distributed to all registered teachers; we strongly encourage a review of this information prior to your visit to PPAC.
Tickets and busing to Experience PPAC performances are FREE for registered schools; these tickets are not available to the public. This program is an Education/Outreach offering for 10th grade students – or classes comprised of grades 10 through 12 – in the state of Rhode Island and their teachers/chaperones only.
PLEASE NOTE: Registration will close at 5:00pm on Friday, December 19, 2025.
For more information on Experience PPAC, please contact Dana Brazil, Director of Education, Outreach & Engagement:
Dana Brazil
Director of Education, Outreach & Engagement
dbrazil@ppacri.org
(401) 574-3132
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2025 – 11:00 AM
SIX
From Tudor Queens to Pop Icons, the SIX wives of Henry VIII take the microphone to remix five hundred years of historical heartbreak into a Euphoric Celebration of 21st century girl power! This new original musical is the global sensation that everyone is losing their head over! The New York Times says SIX “TOTALLY RULES!” (Critic’s Pick) and The Washington Post hails SIX as “Exactly the kind of energizing, inspirational illumination this town aches for!” The SIX: LIVE ON OPENING NIGHT Broadway album debuted at Number 1 on the Billboard cast album charts and surpassed 6 million streams in its first month.
Curriculum Connections: Fine Arts, Social Studies, Biography, History, Culture, Music, and Self-Expression.
Runtime: Approximately 80 minutes with no intermission
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2025 – 11:00 AM
WATER FOR ELEPHANTS
The critically acclaimed bestselling novel comes to “thrilling, dazzling” life (Time Out New York) in a unique, spectacle-filled new musical! Hailed as a Critic’s Pick, The New York Times calls it “stunning, emotional, heart-filled and gorgeously imaginative.” After losing what matters most, a young man jumps a moving train unsure of where the road will take him and finds a new home with the remarkable crew of a traveling circus, and a life—and love—beyond his wildest dreams. Seen through the eyes of his older self, his adventure becomes a poignant reminder that if you choose the ride, life can begin again at any age. Tony Award®-nominated director Jessica Stone’s “huge, heart-filling" production (The New York Times) features a book by three-time Tony® nominee Rick Elice adapted from Sara Gruen’s novel, and a soaring score by the acclaimed PigPen Theatre Co. So, step right up to the “spellbinding entertainment” (Variety) at WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, “the best new musical on Broadway” (Theatermania).
Curriculum Connections: U.S. History, Music, Drama, and Literature
Runtime: Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes including intermission
THURSDAY, JANUARY 22, 2026 – 11:00 AM
SUFFS
BEHIND EVERY POWERFUL WOMAN…ARE MORE POWERFUL WOMEN. Direct from Broadway, comes the acclaimed Tony Award®-winning musical SUFFS about the brilliant, passionate, and funny American women who fought tirelessly for the right to vote. Created by Shaina Taub, the first woman to ever independently win Tony Awards® for Best Book and Best Score in the same season, this “thrilling, inspiring and dazzlingly entertaining” (Variety) new musical boldly explores the triumphs and failures of a struggle for equality that’s far from over. Winner of the Outer Critics’ Circle Award for Best New Musical. “Like all the best Broadway musicals, SUFFS humanizes, empowers, moves, and entertains.” – Chicago Tribune
Curriculum Connections: Biography, U.S. History, Language Arts, Music, and Drama.
Runtime: Approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes including intermission
