Queens Centers for Progress (QCP) debuted its QCP Players Inclusive Theater Program, bringing a whimsical play to the local community.
The QCP Players Theater Program, in collaboration with AhHa!Broadway, a nonprofit focused on inclusive performing arts, presented Roald Dahl’s “Willy Wonka Kids” in a vibrant production on Friday, June 27.
Founded in 1950, QCP has evolved into one of Queens’ leading nonprofits supporting children and adults with developmental disabilities. The Jamaica-based organization now serves more than 1,200 individuals annually through education, day programs, residential services, and advocacy work.
Fifty members of QCP’s Day Habilitation Program were involved in the production, with 23 working on the set design. The remaining 27 took to the stage to sing, act, and dance to their hearts’ content for family, friends, and QCP staff.
The actors and set crew spent 12 weeks creating stage designs, practicing their lines and dances, and preparing for the play. This culminated in two free performances at QCP’s Adult Center, located at 81-16 164th St.
QCP’s Theatre Program’s performance is part of the organization’s 75th anniversary celebrations, reminding community members of its commitment to inclusion, innovation, and opportunity.
Josie Davide, QCP’s director of 164th St. Day Services, said the launch of the theatre program has been a long time coming. Davide said small productions such as open mic nights and fashion shows would be put on sporadically over the years, so the program was extremely significant for the members of QCP’s Adult Center. “ They love to dance, they love to sing, they love to just express themselves, so throughout the years we always wanted this,” she said.
Davide said members were inspired to put on the “Willy Wonka Kids” production because they were drawn to the music. “ We loved the music in it. We thought that looking at the people in the cast and who would be acting, they fit many of the roles that were offered in Willy Wonka,” she said. “ So we figured that was the first step as to a show that we would like to present.”
Davide said the reactions from the day services residents were priceless, as many participants were ecstatic to perform in front of a crowd. Over the 12 weeks, she said they would devote their days to learning their lines. “ They were so excited they would talk about it all the time. So I would hear them through my office door singing, which would make me glow because I was so excited to hear their voices and the excitement they were feeling,” she said.
Davide added that she was impressed by how well the residents were collaborating as they prepared for the play’s premiere. “ What I really loved about it is how they worked with each other. How they looked out for each other. They made sure that if someone forgot the lines, they helped each other. And I really saw a different side of them, and I’ve been with them for all these years,” she said. “I just saw a more caring, social part of each and every one of them.”
On the day of the performances, Davide said she was moved to tears.
“ I was in tears. Just to see them just perform and to make it their own and, and the excitement that they had the day of the show, they, it was just buzzing. It was like being backstage at a Broadway show,” she said. “ We had friends there. We had people from the community come. We had staff who stayed late. All the different staff who weren’t even working for our program anymore came to see the show,” she said.
With the show being a hit, Davide said the QCP Adult Center plans to make the production an annual tradition.
