The 20th Annual Shubert Foundation and Music Theatre International Broadway Junior Student Celebration | Music Theatre International

Published 2 days ago• 5 minute read

The 20th annual Shubert Foundation & Music Theatre International Broadway Junior® Student Finale was held on Thursday, May 22, 2025 at Broadway’s Ambassador Theatre (219 West 49th Street) hosted by Nicholas Matos (Smash) and Aline Mayagoitia (Real Women Have Curves).

The Shubert Foundation / MTI Broadway Junior® partnership is a groundbreaking musical theatre mentorship program that helps public schools affect school culture change through building sustainable theatre education programs. Hundreds of participating students shared musical numbers from their fully produced school shows at the Finale. For many, this was their first musical theatre experience performing on Broadway.

New York City Public School students from Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan and Queens performed numbers from their full school productions of Broadway musicals. The shows included Disney's Aladdin JR., Disney's Alice in Wonderland JR., Annie JR., Disney's High School Musical JR., Disney's The Lion King JR., Madagascar – A Musical Adventure JR., Roald Dahl’s Matilda The Musical JR., Disney's Newsies JR., Seussical JR., and Shrek The Musical JR.

The program is sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, Music Theatre International (MTI) and New York City Public Schools (NYCPS). In attendance at the Broadway Junior® Student Finale were Diana Phillips, President of The Shubert Foundation, President and CEO of Music Theatre International Drew Cohen, representatives from the NYC Public Schools Arts Office, prominent NYC arts educators, and leading members of New York’s professional theatre community.

“The Shubert Foundation and MTI Broadway Junior partnership with our Arts Office is an example of how the arts can empower our students both inside the classroom and on the big stage,” said Schools Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos. “We deeply appreciate this commitment, which gives our young people unforgettable experiences that will leave a lasting impact on their artistic journeys.”

“Every year, our middle school students light up a Shubert stage with their performances, uplifting us all with their exuberance and inspiring spirit,” said Diana Phillips, President of The Shubert Foundation. “More than 30,000 students have benefitted from this program over the past 20 years and it is a privilege for us to help make these formative and memorable experiences possible.”

“For 20 years, Music Theatre International has been honored to partner with The Shubert Foundation and the NYC Public Schools to help bring the transformative power of musical theatre to students across the city,” said Drew Cohen, President and CEO of Music Theatre International. “As we celebrate this milestone, we remain inspired by the creativity, determination, and joy these young performers bring to the stage. Theatre fosters collaboration, empathy, perseverance, and confidence—skills that serve students far beyond the footlights. We are deeply grateful to the educators, administrators, teaching artists, parents, and, most of all, the students who continue to make this celebration of arts education so meaningful.”

“Youth today navigate a rapidly changing world. Theatre in our schools provides a space and time to process events socially and emotionally, to explore big issues safely and creatively with their peers daily in classes, rehearsals, and on all of life’s stages, shared NYCPS Director of Theater Peter Avery. “We are so fortunate to partner with the Shubert Foundation and Music Theatre International who for 20 years have supported impacting positive school culture one musical at a time!”

The Shubert Foundation / MTI Broadway Junior® program engages students in all aspects and areas of the arts, utilizing master teachers and expert production advisers from the educational theatre organizations, iTheatrics, Broadway Bound Kids and ArtsConnection.

In the first year of the program, teachers and students are guided step-by-step through the process of producing a first-ever musical in their schools. In the second year, teachers and students continue to receive support and encouragement on their second musical, but take ownership over their productions. In the third year and beyond, schools present a musical independently, and serve as inspiration for other schools involved in earlier cycles of the program.

The 2025presented performances from middle school groups participating in the second year of the program:

Adrien Block Intermediate School (Queens)

The Brooklyn Green School Joseph H. Wade Intermediate School 117 (Bronx)

MS 177 Yorkville East (Manhattan)

MS 301 Paul L. Dunbar (Bronx)

P138M @ IS 90 (Manhattan / District 75)

P224Q @ IS 266 (Queens / District 75)

P370K Jim Thorpe (Brooklyn / District 75)

PS 46 Arthur Tappan (Manhattan) PS 181 (Brooklyn)

PS/IS 180 Hugo Newman Preparatory College (Manhattan)

PS/MS 219 Paul Klapper (Queens)

PS/MS 280 Mosholu Parkway (Bronx)