Released as the first slate of titles in the company's Young@Part series, the adaptations condense full-length Broadway musicals into manageable productions that students and teachers are able to present with success.
Other licensing companies, such as Music Theatre International and its Broadway Junior series, and Rodgers & Hammerstein's Getting to Know You collection, have enjoyed success with this innovative model.
Announced by TRW president and CEO Steve Spiegel, the first three titles in the series will be available in January 2016. The licensing company has been workshopping and refining the productions over the past two years. It is expected that a slate of other TRW titles will become available as part of the Young@Part series.
"Our entry into the junior musical theatre market has been a cornerstone of our planning since I started TRW," Spiegel said in a statement. "Our commitment to providing young people and theatre educators around the world with top-quality editions of contemporary Broadway shows will be realized in January with the release of the first three Young at Part shows. The entire TRW Team is excited to be able to offer Spamalot, All Shook Up and Curtains to our thousands of elementary and middle school and youth theatre partners everywhere. And our future release schedule will ensure that the Young at Part collection will continue to grow and innovate in the junior musical marketplace."
The titles will be available in a traditional "show in a box" format, as well as a digital version aimed at reducing the barriers to production that will allow educators across the globe to instantly download materials without the cost or wait of shipping materials. "We've prepared for the long-term protection and promotion of our authors' work by embracing the digital distribution of licensed IP in the Grand Rights arena," Spiegel added. "As we move to a digital environment for the industry, we’re pleased to open this vital window to schools and youth theatres to give them instant access to rehearsal materials for their classrooms and performance spaces, wherever they may be around the globe."
TRW's titles are also part of the PlaybillDER tool that allows schools and theatre organizations to build their very own Broadway quality Playbill program. Read more about it here.
