TV: Darren Criss Welcomes Hundreds of Kids to a Broadway Stage at Shubert Foundation's Broadway Junior!

The 10th Anniversary celebration of The Shubert Foundation/Music Theatre International arts education program, Broadway Junior, was held earlier this week at Broadway's Imperial Theatre (249 W. 45th St.), hosted by "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" star Darren Criss. At the annual event, students from Brooklyn, Bronx, Queens and Manhattan perform song and dance numbers from their school versions of Broadway musicals. The shows include Into the Woods JR, Disney's Aladdin JR, Fame JR, Annie JR, Hairspray JR, and Schoolhouse Rock Live JR. Check out highlights from the special day below!

The Shubert /MTI Broadway Junior Program is a groundbreaking musical theatre mentorship program that builds self-sustaining theatre programs in public schools that have limited arts programming. The program is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, Music Theatre International (MTI) and the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE).

The Shubert Foundation/MTI Broadway Junior Program engages students in all aspects and areas of the arts, utilizing master teachers and expert production advisers from the educational theatre organizations, iTheatrics and ArtsConnection.

In the first year of the Broadway Junior program, teachers and students are guided step-by-step through the process of producing a first-ever musical in their schools. In the second year, teachers and students continue to receive support and encouragement on their second musical, but take ownership over their productions. In the third year and beyond, schools present a musical independently, and serve as inspiration for other schools involved in earlier cycles of the program.