Schumacher Delivers Keynote Speech At Jr Theater Festival

In conjunction with the second edition of his hit book How Does theShow Go On?, Broadway producer Thomas Schumacher will give the keynote address at the Junior Theater Festival in Atlanta. The national festival dedicated togroups working with elementary and middle school aged young people, runs January 16 -18, 2009.Schumacher's presentation (on Sunday, January 18) will, much like his book, enlightenmore than 1,500 theater lovers about what goes into putting on a Broadway show.

Child actor Henry Hodges, who starred as ‘Michael Banks' in the original Broadway cast of Disney & Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins will also join Schumacher. Schumacher's much heralded book, How Does the Show Go On?, was originally released in 2007 and went on to sell over 50,000 copies. A second edition was released inlate 2008 and has been updated to include Broadway's The Little Mermaid and the stageproduction of the mega-hit High School Musical.

A library edition of How Does the Show Go On? is also available. The book, written with Jeff Kurtti, gives readers theopportunity to meet the casts of characters who work onstage and behind the scenes todeliver unforgettable performances, and explore the inner workings of the theater buildingitself. Filled with artifacts you can pull out and hold in your hand, How Does the ShowGo On? is a totally unique guide to what goes on behind the curtain. Produced by iTheatrics and Theater of the Stars, and in association with Music TheaterInternational, the Junior Theater Festival brings together an impressive ensemble ofstudents and teachers from across the nation to celebrate on-stage and backstageexcellence with hundreds of peers who share their passion for musical theater.

Eachgroup will present a selection from their student musical production for professionaladjudication, as well as participate in interactive workshops led by Broadway and WestEnd professionals, meet celebrities and enjoy theatrical fellowship.

Thomas Schumacher is President of Disney Theatrical Group. He joined the WaltDisney Company in 1988, previously serving as president of Feature Animation, where hesupervised the development and production of twenty-one animated feature films. HisBroadway producing credits include Julie Taymor's production of The Lion King (six 1998Tony® Awards) now in its tenth year; Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida (four 2000 Tony®Awards); Tarzan®, with the music and lyrics of Phil Collins and direction and design byBob Crowley; Mary Poppins, a partnership between Disney and Cameron Mackintosh and The Little Mermaid, which opened in January 2008, featuring direction by Francesca Zambello. Schumacher's other producing credits include On the Record, a musical celebrating Disney's catalog of beloved songs and the highly successful touring stage production of Disney's High School Musical, which reached 41 cities over 60 weeks in2008. He is also the author of the book How Does the Show Go On? An Introduction tothe Theater, published by Disney Editions. Future projects in development include TheMan in the Ceiling, based on the Jules Feiffer book with music by Andrew Lippa, and astage adaptation by Rick Elice of Peter and the Starcatchers, a novel by Dave Barry andRidley Pearson.

A graduate of UCLA, he is a member of the Executive Committee for BroadwayCares/Equity Fights AIDS, the Tony® Administration Committee, the AdvisoryCommittee of the American Theatre Wing and serves as adjunct professor at Columbia University. Henry Hodges. Broadway: Mary Poppins (Original Michael Banks), Macbeth, 13The Musical, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Original Jeremy Potts). Broadway and NationalTour: Beauty and the Beast (Chip). Ford's Theatre's A Christmas Carol (Tiny Tim); KirovOpera's Macbeth; Washington Opera's Madame Butterfly, Salome, Idomeneo withPlacido Domingo. Sketch Comedy: Don't Quit Your Night Job, at HA! Comedy club, NYC.DVD/film: starring as Mudbud's voice in Disney's SnowBuddies and also in SpaceBuddies- in stores February 2009! www.henryhodges.com
www.howdoestheshowgoon.com

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