Inside Broadway

Inside Broadway is a non-profit performing arts education organization and children's theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York.

History

Inside Broadway, originally known as Midtown Management Group, was founded in 1982 by Michael Presser. It began when Presser was asked by Bernard Jacobs, then-president of The Shubert Organization, to create a student ticket program for the Broadway production of ''Cats''. This program distributed 50 tickets each Wednesday matinee to New York City public school students. A year later, the program expanded to include ''Dreamgirls''. The program became very successful, eventually including shows such as ''Les Misérables'', ''Phantom of the Opera'', and ''Miss Saigon''. The ticket program ran for the entire length of the original run of ''Cats'', ending when the production closed in 2000.

Aside from the ticket program, Inside Broadway created several other projects during its first few years, including:

Broadway Backstage
an educational video created with the cast and creative team of ''Cats'' to showcase the backstage workings of a Broadway production. In 1988, Presser brought this video to the Soviet Union and showed it to several groups of students.
* The Shakespeare Connection, a collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company in which teaching artists from the United Kingdom came over to lead Shakespearean workshops for New York students.
* Th
''Cats'' Funbook
an educational guide to the show written for students attending as part of the ticket program. Copies of this guide were later distributed by several ''Cats'' touring companies.
* A production of the children's opera '' Brundibar'', which was performed by a group of students at a school in Queens, with an additional performance at Hofstra University.

After the end of the ticket program, Inside Broadway changed its focus to providing in-school and after-school programs.

Programs

Creating the Magic

Inside Broadway's Creating the Magic programs are collaborations with Broadway productions to create presentations for New York City public school students about the inner workings of a Broadway show. Taking place inside the Broadway theatre where the show is playing, these presentations consist of performances from the actors and demonstrations from the stage crew with the set, props, lighting, and sound design. The goal of these programs is to educate students about the various different careers present in the theatre industry, as well as to highlight the contributions that behind-the-scenes workers make to a Broadway show. Each presentation is put on twice that day, and up to 2,200 students per day attend the program.

Broadway productions who have participated in a Creating the Magic program include:

* ''Chicago''
* ''Beetlejuice''
* ''King Kong''
* ''Dear Evan Hansen''
* '' Be More Chill''
* ''The Band's Visit''
* ''The Phantom of the Opera''
* '' Finding Neverland''
* ''Cats''
* ''Mamma Mia!''
* '' ''Wicked''''
* ''Les Misérables''

Touring productions

Twice a school year, Inside Broadway tours an abridged adaptation of a Broadway musical to schools in all five boroughs of New York City. These productions are fully staged and use Equity actors. Each show is adapted to a 45-minute version, meant to fit into a typical class period length. The goal of these tours is to bring live theatre to students in areas where the performing arts are often inaccessible.

Productions have included:

* ''All Kinds of People'', an original show written by Inside Broadway using the music of Oscar Hammerstein II (1996, 1997, 1999, 2020)
* ''Land that I Love'', an original piece developed by Inside Broadway and the family of Irving Berlin, using Berlin's music (1996, 1999, 2002, 2017)
* '' Free to Be... You and Me'' by Marlo Thomas (1999, 2000)
* ''Sophisticated Ladies'' by Duke Ellington and Donald McKayle (2000, 2010, 2016, 2023)
* '' Smokey Joe's Cafe'' by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (2002, 2003, 2009)
* ''You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' by Clark Gesner

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