Leading New York City arts education nonprofit Inside Broadway is returning with its citywide school tour performances in Queens.
Inside Broadway recently began its citywide school tour, “All Kinds of People,” a musical revue developed in collaboration with The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization, designed to promote tolerance and acceptance using the words and lyrics of the great Oscar Hammerstein II.
The tour will play about 90 performances over the course of 10 weeks at over 50 public schools in Queens, Bronx, Brooklyn and Manhattan.
Oscar Hammerstein II was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer and director in the musical theater for almost 40 years. Hammerstein believed in celebrating uniqueness and differences — not shying away from them.
This message still remains true today and these themes were represented through his show stopping numbers like “Ol’ Man River” from his 1927 masterpiece “Show Boat,” “Climb Every Mountain” from the beloved “The Sound of Music,” and “You’ve Got to Be Carefully Taught” from his Pulitzer Prize-winning “South Pacific.”
Hammerstein believed wholeheartedly in celebrating differences instead of fearing them, as simply and eloquently expressed in his musical “Pipe Dream” – “It takes all kinds of people to make up a world.”
Other songs that are featured in the show are “Getting to Know You” from “The King & I,” “Impossible” from “Cinderella,” “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel,” and the title song “All Kinds of People” from “Pipe Dream.”
The cast features Darian Peer, DeShaun Michael Tost, Alexandra Imbrosci-Viera and Jessica Wagner. The production team includes direction and choreography by Michael Blatt, Laura Krouch (production stage manager), Carl Tallent (scenic design), Karl Ruckdeschel (costume design), Nicholas Sala (associate producer), and John Bowen (musical direction).
Inside Broadway, established by Michael Presser in 1982 in cooperation with The Shubert Organization, today reaches over 70,000 New York City students in over 100 public schools each year. Their programs include an annual Equity musical production that tours to schools as well as a wide range of educational programs that allow participants to interact with professionals in the field and experience theater hands-on in the classroom.
The tour’s upcoming performances will be held at three public schools in Queens:
- Tuesday, Feb. 25 P.S. 224 Q 9 a.m. & 10:45 a.m.
- Thursday, Feb. 27 I.S. 230 Q 9 a.m. & 10:45 a.m.
- Thursday, March 5 P.S. 212 Q 9 a.m.
Programs of Inside Broadway are funded by the NYC Dept. of Cultural Affairs, New York City Council, New York City Department of Education, and numerous foundations and individuals. For more information visit www.InsideBroadway.org.
