Bernadette Peters to Host 10th Anniversary of Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival

More than 100 New York City public school theatre artists will make their Broadway debuts March 25 when the 2024 Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival for NYC Public Schools is presented at 7:30 PM at the Winter Garden Theatre.

Three-time Tony honoree Bernadette Peters will host the annual theatre education experience for NYC students, which is presented by The Shubert Foundation and the NYC Department of Education Arts Office.

Additional guest presenters will include James Caverly, Miguel Cervantes, Charlotte d’Amboise, Jeanna de Waal, Trechelle Edmond, Drew Gehling, Tamar Greene, Anika Larsen, Apollo Levine, Julian Elijah Martinez, Gary Perez, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Seth Rudetsky, Brandon Uranowitz, and Kara Young.

The Shubert Festival will celebrate six outstanding high school student productions from the 2023–2024 school year, selected from more than 20 productions by professional theatre artists and theatre educators. This year's festival will feature scenes and musical numbers from the following productions and schools.

Titanic – Professional Performing Arts High School (Manhattan)
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat – Lexington School for the Deaf (Queens)
Mamma Mia! – Curtis High School (Staten Island)
Zanna Don't! – Repertory Company High School for Theatre Arts (Manhattan)
Titanic – Frank Sinatra School of the Arts (Queens)
Urinetown – Brooklyn High School for the Arts (Brooklyn)

The Festival showcases not only the theatre work currently taking place in NYC public high schools, but also the skills needed for the stage and in life: collaboration, artistry, discipline, focus, literacy, student voice, self-awareness, presence, and empathy. The evening focuses on the impact a theatre program can have on students and school communities, enabling students to see theatre and the arts as a potential career path.

"We have seen almost 2,000 of our talented scholars make their Broadway debuts in the annual Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival for NYC Public Schools. Celebrating its impressive 10th anniversary this year, this thrilling event makes a profound and lasting impact on our young people, their futures as professional artists and arts administrators, and on NYC Public Schools' arts education initiatives,” said Schools Chancellor David C. Banks in a statement. “We deeply appreciate our partners at the Shubert Foundation for their continued commitment to and investment in this program that enriches the lives of our students and their communities.”

Added Diana Phillips, president of The Shubert Foundation: “A program that has thrived for 10 years is an impressive achievement by any measure, and we salute the talent of our students and the stellar drama programs of our NYC public schools that are so integral to this success. When the festival began, few outside the school communities knew about these outstanding theatre programs but that has now changed. Our Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival has given the students and their teachers a far wider stage and even experienced theatre goers tell us that this night is one of their favorite Broadway events. We could not be more proud.”

Sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, the Festival is presented in partnership with the New York City Public Schools’ Arts Office.

The Shubert Foundation, Inc. is the largest institutional funder of theatre education programs throughout NYC public schools and the nation's largest private foundation dedicated to unrestricted funding of not-for-profit theatres, with a secondary focus on dance.

For more information click here. See photos from last year's festival below.