Melodic Caring Project to Bring Disney's ALADDIN to Children in Local Hospitals

Seattle Theatre Group (STG) is one of 10 presenters in the U.S. to receive a 2017 National Education and Engagement Grant from the Broadway League.

With the funding, STG is partnering with Melodic Caring Project (MCP) and Disney Theatrical Productions to share the artistry and joy of the hit Broadway musical Aladdin with children in local hospitals. The grant aims to support inspiring and inventive programs for a wide range of participants to experience and understand Broadway performances as a form of artistic expression and a powerful educational tool.

"It is a great honor to support arts organizations that are doing the important work of engaging regional communities around the country. These Broadway-based programs consistently have a significant impact on underserved populations by encouraging arts curriculums, offering performing arts-based school field trips, promoting inclusion and providing life-long learning," commented Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League. "Our member organizations' dedication to bringing Broadway to their whole communities ensures that the magic of theatre reaches everyone."

STG, MCP and Disney Theatrical Productions will be doing just that with "STG in Hospitals featuring Disney's Aladdin," an interactive program that brings the magic of Disney's Aladdin to a special population of children who are hard to reach for medical reasons.

The multifaceted project, which will take place during the Seattle engagement of Aladdin at the Paramount Theatre in October, will engage up to 200 children who are terminally ill or suffering from serious medical conditions. During the program, a live 30-minute interactive backstage tour of the production will be streamed to selected hospitals, selected cast members will visit Seattle Children's hospital for a sing-along, and 100 tickets will be provided for these children and their families to attend a matinee performance of Aladdin and post-show talk-back.

"We are so grateful to the Broadway League for their support with this model project," saidVicky Lee, STG's Director of Education and Performance Programs. "We look forward to working with our friends at Melodic Caring Project, Disney Theatrical Productions, and Seattle Children's Hospital as we bring the wonder of Disney's Aladdin--and Broadway as a whole--to children who otherwise would not have been able to experience it."

Since it was founded in 1996, The Broadway League's Education and Engagement Grants program has awarded $1.2 million in grants to support the education efforts of Broadway and Touring Broadway presenting organizations. The League administers this program with generous additional financial support from Theatre Development Fund. In addition to the National Education and Engagement Grants program, the League also administers similar grants for programs affiliated with Broadway productions in New York City each year.

THE BROADWAY LEAGUE (Charlotte St. Martin, President), founded in 1930, is the national trade association for the Broadway industry. The League's 700-plus members include theatre owners and operators, producers, presenters, and general managers who present in nearly 200 markets in North America. Each year, League members bring Broadway to nearly 30 million people in New York and on tour across the U.S. and Canada. The Broadway League has recently added a new category for International membership to collaborate with professionals from around the world who produce and present Broadway quality theatre. The Broadway League annually co-presents the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards, one of the most coveted awards in the entertainment industry.

Key League programs and resources include: Kids' Night on Broadway, The Jimmys, Stars in the Alley, Internet Broadway Database (ibdb.com), Broadway.org, SpotlightonBroadway.com, Commercial Theater Institute (with Theatre Development Fund), as well as numerous conferences and forums for our members. TheatreAccessNYC (co-produced with TDF) is the one-stop website of accessible Broadway performances for theatregoers with disabilities. Broadway.org is the League's official online headquarters for Broadway in NYC, on tour, and internationally. For more information visit BroadwayLeague.com, or follow @BroadwayLeague on Twitter and visit us at Facebook.com/BroadwayLeague.

The MELODIC CARING PROJECT (MCP) is a registered 501(c)3 Non-Profit which bridges the gap between music, technology and patients battling serious illness by streaming LIVE personalized concerts to kids and teens in the hospital. MCP embraces the medically proven healing properties of music to alleviate pain, reduce anxiety and aid in the overall wellness and wellbeing of the patient.

Unlike other complimentary and alternative medicine (CAM) programs, the Melodic Caring Project's model meets a real and pressing need in the market with its new innovative approach offering ease, accessibility and comfort to those suffering from serious illness or injury, especially those quarantined and/or suffering from immunodeficiency.

DTP operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher and is among the world's most successful commercial theatre enterprises, bringing live entertainment events to a global annual audience of more than 19 million people in more than 50 countries. Under the Disney Theatrical Productions banner, the group produces and licenses Broadway productions around the world, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Elton John & Tim Rice's Aida, TARZAN®, Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, and Aladdin. Frozen, based on the Academy Award®-winning film, will open on Broadway in 2018. Other successful stage musical ventures have included the Olivier-nominated London hit Shakespeare in Love,stage productions of Disney's High School Musical, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame in Berlin, and King David in concert. DTP has collaborated with the country's leading regional theatres to develop new stage titles including The Jungle Book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Freaky Friday.

Disney Theatrical Productions also delivers live shows globally through its license to FeLD Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Disney Live! For over 30 years, Disney on Ice and Disney Live! have brought beloved Disney stories and characters annually to over 12 million guests in nearly 50 countries worldwide, through productions such as Marvel Universe Live! and Frozen, the most well attended and highest grossing Disney on Iceproduction to date. In addition, DTP licenses musical titles for local, school and community theatre productions through Music Theatre International, including The Lion King Experience, a unique holistic arts education program wherein accredited elementary and middle schools produce condensed, age-appropriate JR. and KIDS adaptations of The Lion King.

STG's mission is to make diverse performing arts and education an integral part of the region's cultural identity while keeping three historic venues, The Paramount, Moore and Neptune, alive and vibrant. STG presents a range of performances from Broadway, off-Broadway, dance and jazz, to comedy, concerts of all genres, speakers and family shows - at these three iconic theatres in Seattle and venues throughout the Puget Sound region and in Portland, Oregon. For more information visit stgpresent.org.

STG Education and Community Programs extend beyond the Paramount, Moore and Neptune Theatre stages and into the lives of the greater Seattle community. Each season, STG offers over 150 education programs impacting over 40,000 students and community members from diverse ages and backgrounds. These programs deepen significance to performances through opportunities to engage with artists, inspire youth and local artists through training and performance opportunities, and provide exposure to the arts through access initiatives. For more information visit stgpresents.org/education.

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