Inside Broadway’s 2026 Winter Theatre Programming for NYC Public School Students

With the New Year approaching, Inside Broadway announces 2026 showstopping winter programming available for New York City public school students from elementary to high school across the boroughs. Many of Inside Broadway’s programming is part of NYC Cultural After-School Adventures Program (CASA), an initiative created and fully funded by New York City Council with support from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs.

“Providing access to culture, the performing arts and Broadway to New York City public school students is crucial to the life of our city,” said Michael Presser, Founder, President & CEO of Inside Broadway. “Kids are our future artists, technicians, stage managers and audience members. With a New Year and a new mayoral administration, we are looking forward to providing transformative in-school and in-theater programming for the next generation of artists and industry professionals and are also grateful for New York City Council members who have supported Inside Broadway to help make our mission a reality.”

“Inside Broadway has been opening doors for young New Yorkers for more than four decades, and their 2026 season is another shining example of what culturally rich, public-school education can look like. Through CASA, the City Council is proud to help bring world-class theatre experiences directly into our classrooms and auditoriums—sparking creativity, expanding horizons, and showing students that there is a place for them in the arts. I’m grateful to Inside Broadway for their steadfast commitment to inspiring the next generation of performers, technicians, and audiences across our city,” said Council Member Erik Bottcher (District 3 of Manhattan) and Chair of the Council Committee on Cultural Affairs, Libraries, and International Intergroup Organizations.

Upcoming 2026 Winter Theatre Programming includes:

A Jukebox Musical Comedy Comes to Town (January to March 2026)

Inside Broadway’s 2026 annual professional touring production of The Marvelous Wonderettes, written and created by Roger Bean, will kick off from January 15 to March 27, 2026 for a 12-week tour to more than 45 public schools across the boroughs. This abbreviated version of the smash Off-Broadway hit will transport NYC public school students to the Springfield High School Prom in 1958 – telling the story of evolving friendships, dreams and lives and featuring popular musical hits from the ‘50’s and ‘60s. Supported by the New York City Council as part of the CASA grant, the annual touring production brings the magic of Broadway directly into NYC school auditoriums, showcasing an engaging and educational 45-minute live theatre production created and performed by professional actors and live musicians, designed to fit into a class period and connect to the curriculum. Previous productions include You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown; On The Town; Duke Ellington’s Sophisticated Ladies; Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella; The Pirates of Penzance; Kiss Me, Kate; Bye Bye, Birdie; My Town, and others.

Travel to the Heart of Havana and Go Behind the Curtain! (January 29, 2026)

Inside Broadway will bring back its popular bi-annual “Creating the Magic” event this winter, partnering with Tony Award-winning show Buena Vista Social Club. Funded by CASA, Creating the Magic is a fun, free, and educational event that brings nearly 1,000 NYC public-school students directly into the theatre in Times Square to learn about on and off-stage career opportunities that “create the magic” of a Broadway musical. Actors, musicians, stage managers, sound and lighting, and other professionals will showcase the various jobs and skills required to work on a Broadway show. Students will get a taste of the real sounds of Havana with blazing trumps and sizzling guitars and learn more about Cuban culture. Previous Creating the Magic programming includes Hell’s Kitchen, The Great Gatsby, SIX, King Kong, Mamma Mia!, Wicked, CATS, Phantom of The Opera, Hairspray, and more. 

There’s No Business Like Show Business (March 2026)

Inside Broadway will bring back its newest bi-annual program, “Broadway Day in the Schools,” which provides an insider’s look at professional acting careers on Broadway in March 2026. The 45-minute program is designed to teach students about performing arts education, careers on stage, and what it takes to succeed in the professional theatre world.  The actors talk about their education, first auditions, how the audition process works, their credentials, and careers. They also perform two songs each, accompanied by tracks or piano, followed by a general Q&A session with the students and photo ops. The most recent “Broadway Day in the Schools” starred Thayne Jasperson of Hamilton and Kayla Davion of Tina: The Tina Turner Musical. For March 2026, the date, school and actors will be announced in the coming weeks.