Disney Theatrical Group News

The New York-based devised theater company, Theater in Asylum (TIA), will present four performances of The Debates: General Election at Under St. Marks Theater in the East Village.

Nevada Thespians, the state chapter of the Educational Theatre Association, in conjunction with The Clark County School District will be presenting the amateur premier of The Hunchback of Notre Dame: A New Musical on November 25, 26, 27, & 28, 2016 at 2:00 pm & 7:00 pm at the Cashman Theatre.

Virginia Theatre Association will again host a Who's Who of Virginia's theatre community, including Broadway's Mercedes Herrero (University of Virginia and Yale Drama, Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, The Laramie Project); Charlotte d'Amboise (Pippin, Chicago, A Chorus LIne) Theatre/Tech Visionary Natasha Tsakos, Google Live Event Strategist Jason Fahlstrom, and many others, when Virginia Theatre Association (VTA) returns to Norfolk for its #VTA2016: Creative Acts Annual Conference, October 26-30, 2016, at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Hotel.

Below, check out a first look at a featurette featuring singer/songwriter/producer Alicia Keys and her new song "Back to Life," which is featured in the upcoming film QUEEN OF KATWE.

Dr. Phillips Center Florida Hospital School of the Arts announces the four local area elementary schools that have been selected to participate in the inaugural Disney Musicals in Schools program. Participating in the 2016 – 2017 school year are Bonneville Elementary (Orange County), Winegard Elementary (Orange County), Lake Orienta Elementary (Seminole County) and Kissimmee Elementary (Osceola County). At an Orientation event in January 2017, these schools will select the a Disney musical of their choice from the “KIDS” licensing collection. The rehearsals will officially start in January 2017, culminating with performances the following May.

The Film Society of Lincoln Center and Disney have announced a 25th anniversary screening of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, presented Sunday, September 18 at Alice Tully Hall.

The upcoming titles include Disney's Pete's Dragon, due out August 12, 2016; Marvel's Doctor Strange, due out November 4, 2016; Disney's Moana, due out November 23, 2016;

Prospect Theater Company, under the leadership of Artistic Director Cara Reichel and Managing Director Melissa Huber, presentsARCHETYPE, a collection of six new mini-musicals, the culminating production of Prospect's 2016 Musical Theater Lab (the company's 10th lab production).  ARCHETYPE will play from July 27 - 31 at The Theater at the 14th Street Y (344 East 14th Street @ 1st Ave., NYC).

Eight outstanding educators from schools and performing arts centers around the country will work one-on-one with Broadway greats at the 7th Annual FREDDIE G FELLOWSHIP July 13th - 16th.  The event has once again been underwritten by Myrna and Freddie ("G") Gershon, Chairman and CEO of leading theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI).  The four days of classes and activities honor instructors and teachers who are working to make a difference for their students and communities through the process of staging musical theatre productions in their schools and educational theatre groups.  In addition to the New York experience, each of the teachers' schools receives $5,000 from Freddie and Myrna to enhance their arts program.

Deborah Warren has been named the new Director of Marketing and James Sims the new Director of Communications at Center Theatre Group of Los Angeles, one of the largest and most active nonprofit theatre companies in the country, it was announced today by Stephen D. Rountree, Center Theatre Group's Managing Director.

Segerstrom Center for the Arts will take its Disney Musicals in Schools program to four recently selected Title I public elementary schools during the 2016 - 2017 school year in the third year of the program. The schools are Las Positas Elementary (La Habra), Riverdale Elementary (Garden Grove), Mattie Lou Maxwell Elementary (Anaheim) and Santiago Elementary (Santa Ana). The 17-week musical theater residency begins in the fall and culminates with a 30-minute Disney KIDS musical to be performed by students at each school site. On March 21, 2017, Segerstrom Center will host a Student Share Celebration, when each school will have the extraordinary opportunity to perform a selection from their show in the Rene?e and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall for an audience of fellow students, family members and friends.

The winners of the eighth annual NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS (NHSMTA)/JIMMY AWARDS were determined and announced last night, Monday, June 27, 2016, at the Minskoff Theatre on Broadway. This one-of-a-kind-event was hosted by Tony Award-nominee Zachary Levi, currently starring on Broadway in Roundabout Theatre Company's She Loves Me at Studio 54.

THE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL THEATRE AWARDS (NHSMTA)/JIMMY AWARDS has announced that 62 high school students from across America will compete for the Jimmy Award for Best Performance by an Actor and Actress at the eighth annual awards ceremony. The presentation will take place on Monday, June 27th at 7:30PM at the Minskoff Theatre, 200 West 45th Street in Manhattan. Tickets can be purchased by visiting NHSMTA.COM or TICKETMASTER.COM and range from $39 to $89. Premium seats are $250.

Golden Globe Award® winner Emily Blunt (“Into the Woods,” the upcoming “Girl on the Train”) and Emmy®, GRAMMY®, Tony Award® and Pulitzer Prize winner Lin-Manuel Miranda (“Hamilton,” “In the Heights”) are set to star in MARY POPPINS RETURNS, a sequel to the studio's 1964 classic, “Mary Poppins,” which will be released on December 25, 2018.

The Broadway Education Alliance Inc. presented The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance (formerly the Gershwin Awards) on Sunday, May 22 at The Beacon School in Manhattan. The two-hour showcase hosted by Tim Federle (co-writer of Tuck Everlasting) featured 35 students who had played leading roles at 26 high school located throughout the five boroughs of New York, Long Island and Westchester.

Today, the organizers of TEDxBroadway released videos of the talks and performances from the fifth annual event held February 22, 2016 at New World Stages in New York City.

iTheatrics, the Junior Theater Group and the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) will collaborate on the first-ever Junior Theater Festival West (JTF West), February 10-12, 2017 in Sacramento, CA (#JTFWest), it was announced today by Timothy Allen McDonald, founding chairman of iTheatrics and the Junior Theater Group and Julie Theobald, EdTA Executive Director.  

iTheatrics, the Junior Theater Group and the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA) will collaborate on the first-ever Junior Theater Festival West (JTF West), February 10-12, 2017 in Sacramento, CA (#JTFWest), it was announced today by Timothy Allen McDonald, founding chairman of iTheatrics and the Junior Theater Group and Julie Theobald, EdTA Executive Director.  

The Broadway Education Alliance has just announced that Tim Federle, co-book writer of TUCK EVERLASTING, will host The Roger Rees Awards for Excellence in Student Performance (formerly the Gershwin Awards), which will be held on Sunday, May 22 at The Beacon High School in Manhattan.

While you may think actors flock here to become princesses or superheroes, Orlando is also quickly becoming a training ground for up and coming talented students. The Dr. Phillips Center has been the two year reigning pinnacle of the Orlando theater arts scene. To complement this world-class facility, the School of the Arts sits behind the Dr. Phillips Center and hosts a variety of performing arts classes for all ages.