The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and Disney to Offer Free Streaming Performance of
DISNEY’S NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL
to the School District Palm Beach County as Part of Disney’s Investment in the Next Generation of Storytellers
(West Palm Beach, FL) – The Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and Disney are teaming up to offer The School District of Palm Beach County, grades 6 through 12, free access to a pre-recorded streaming performance of the Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical. With the impact of the pandemic on theaters and schools, Disney is committed to innovating new ways for students to remain engaged with the performing arts. By providing this Newsies Virtual Fieldtrip, Disney is investing in the next generation of storytellers and inspiring them to create the futures they imagine. March is Theater in Our Schools Month, and now more than ever students and teachers will benefit from the connection and engagement offered by events like this.
“At the Kravis Center, we’re committed to enriching the lives of students and educators in Palm Beach County and throughout South Florida,” said Tracy C. Butler, Director of Education for the Kravis Center. “Our ongoing partnership with Disney Theatrical Group has been both an enriching and rewarding one. We are thrilled to have the unique opportunity to provide this high-quality virtual field experience to our Palm Beach County Title I middle and high schools.”
“Since the onset of the pandemic, we have been working to find creative and accessible ways to provide our content free to students and educators,” said Lisa Mitchell, Disney Theatrical Group’s Director of Education & Audience Engagement. “Earlier this year, we offered a virtually accessible version of The Lion King Experience, a unique holistic arts education program that provides students and educators an immersive introduction to theater-making through the lens of the Broadway production of The Lion King. We are now thrilled to offer Newsies: The Broadway Musical as a virtual field trip to 20 markets across the country in partnership with non-profit performing arts centers, including the Kravis Center. They have an excellent reputation for delivering quality education programs, and we are excited to have them introduce this energetic and inspirational production to their students.”
Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical will be available to School District of Palm Beach County classrooms from March 29 – April 30, 2021. Access is free to grades 6 through 12 but registration is required. The Kravis Center is distributing registration information to eligible classrooms. Palm Beach County educators may call 561-651-4251 or email pino@kravis.org with questions.
ABOUT DISNEY’S NEWSIES: THE BROADWAY MUSICAL
NEWSIES, the new American musical, features a Tony Award-winning score with music by eight-time Academy Award®-winner Alan Menken and lyrics by Jack Feldman, a book by four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and is produced by Disney Theatrical Productions. NEWSIES is directed by Tony nominee Jeff Calhoun and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli, who won a 2012 Tony Award for his work on the show. Since opening on Broadway in 2011, NEWSIES has played 1,711 performances between Broadway and the North American tour, to more than 2.5 million audience members in 65 cities across the country.
In 2017, “Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical!” made its premiere in-cinemas nationwide. Captured live at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre, the film features original Broadway cast members, Jeremy Jordan,” as Jack Kelly, Kara Lindsay as Katherine, Ben Fankhauser asDavey and Andrew Keenan-Bolger as Crutchie, and NEWSIES North American Tour stars Steve Blanchard as Joseph Pulitzer, Aisha de Haas as Medda Larkin, and Ethan Steiner as Les.
“Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical!” is currently streaming on Disney +.
Set in New York City at the turn of the century, NEWSIES is the rousing tale of Jack Kelly, a charismatic newsboy and leader of a ragged band of teenaged ‘newsies,’ who dreams only of a better life far from the hardship of the streets. But when publishing titans Joseph Pulitzer and William Randolph Hearst raise distribution prices at the newsboys’ expense, Jack finds a cause to fight for and rallies newsies from across the city to strike for what’s right.
DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP (DTG) operates under the direction of Thomas Schumacher and is among the world’s most successful commercial theatre producers, bringing live entertainment events to a global audience of more than 20 million people a year in more than 50 countries. Under the Disney Theatrical Group 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, Aladdin, and Frozen. 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. DTG has collaborated with the nation’s preeminent theatres to develop new stage titles including The Jungle Book, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Freaky Friday and Hercules. As a part of the recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox, DTP also heads the Buena Vista Theatrical banner which licenses Fox titles for stage adaptations including Anastasia; Moulin Rouge! The Musical; Mrs. Doubtfire and The Devil Wears Prada.
Disney Theatrical Group also delivers live shows globally through its license to Feld Entertainment, producer of Disney on Ice and Marvel Universe Live!, bringing beloved Disney stories and characters annually to over 12 million guests in nearly 50 countries worldwide. In addition, DTG 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.
ABOUT DISNEY CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
At Disney, corporate social responsibility refers to our commitment to operate our businesses in an honorable and ethical manner along with our philanthropic efforts to bring comfort, inspiration, and opportunity to families around the world. As part of these efforts, Disney is also committed to supporting the next generation of innovators and storytellers. Through a diverse suite of programs and investments, Disney is bridging opportunity gaps for youth and providing inspiration and opportunity for them to reach their full potential and create the future they imagine. To learn more about how Disney supports the next generation, visit https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/investments-in-youth/.
ABOUT THE KRAVIS CENTER FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS
The Kravis Center is a not-for-profit performing arts center located at 701 Okeechobee Blvd. in West Palm Beach, FL. The Center’s mission is to enhance the quality of life in Palm Beach County by presenting a diverse schedule of national and international artists and companies of the highest quality, by offering comprehensive arts education programs – serving more than 3 million students since its inception; by providing a Palm Beach County home for local and regional arts organizations to showcase their work; and by providing an economic catalyst and community leadership in West Palm Beach, supporting efforts to increase travel and tourism to Palm Beach County. Additional programming can be found at www.kravis.org/classroomconnection. For more information on the Kravis Center, visit the official website at www.Kravis.org.