Photos/Video: 20th Annual Shubert Foundation & Music Theatre International Broadway Junior Student Celebration

The 20th annual Shubert Foundation & Music Theatre International Broadway Junior Student Finale was held on Thursday, May 22, 2025 at Broadway’s Ambassador Theatre hosted by Nicholas Matos and Aline Mayagoitia. Check out photos and video of the event!

The Shubert Foundation / MTI Broadway Junior partnership is a groundbreaking musical theatre mentorship program that helps public schools affect school culture change through building sustainable theatre education programs. Hundreds of participating students shared musical numbers from their fully produced school shows at the Finale. For many, this was their first musical theatre experience performing on Broadway.

New York City Public School students from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens performed numbers from their full school productions of Broadway musicals. The shows included Disney's Aladdin JR., Disney's Alice in Wonderland JR., Annie JR., Disney's High School Musical JR., Disney's The Lion King JR., Madagascar – A Musical Adventure JR., Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR., Disney's Newsies JR., Seussical JR., and Shrek The Musical JR.

The program is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, Music Theatre International (MTI) and New York City Public Schools (NYCPS). In attendance at the Broadway Junior® Student Finale were Diana Phillips, President of The Shubert Foundation, President and CEO of Music Theatre International Drew Cohen, representatives from the NYC Public Schools Arts Office, prominent NYC arts educators, and leading members of New York’s professional theatre community.

“The Shubert Foundation and MTI Broadway Junior partnership with our Arts Office is an example of how the arts can empower our students both inside the classroom and on the big stage,” said Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “We deeply appreciate this commitment, which gives our young people unforgettable experiences that will leave a lasting impact on their artistic journeys.”

“Every year, our middle school students light up a Shubert stage with their performances, uplifting us all with their exuberance and inspiring spirit,” said Diana Phillips, President of The Shubert Foundation. “More than 30,000 students have benefitted from this program over the past 20 years and it is a privilege for us to help make these formative and memorable experiences possible.”