Segerstrom Center for the Arts Commemorates 10th Anniversary of Disney Musicals in Schools Program with Student Share Celebration
Tuesday, March 26, 2024 | Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall
COSTA MESA, CA | Segerstrom Center for the Arts is excited to announce its 2024 Disney Musicals in Schools student share performance, celebrating the remarkable 10th anniversary of the program. This milestone signifies a decade of providing schools across Orange County with the knowledge and expertise to establish and sustain their own on-site musical theater programs.
Disney Musicals in Schools, in collaboration with Disney Theatrical Group, has played a vital role in nurturing the artistic talents of students, unlocking their potential, and promoting teamwork and communication skills. Through the medium of musical theater, students have discovered new dimensions of self-expression and self-confidence, contributing to their personal growth and academic achievements.
This year’s selected schools include Commonwealth Elementary (Fullerton), Guin Foss Elementary (Tustin), Heroes Elementary (Santa Ana), and Linda Vista IB Magnet (Mission Viejo).
Since their residencies began in October 2023, participating schools have undertaken a transformative journey as they rehearsed and prepared, delving into the rich storytelling, music, and choreography. Participants have not only learned the intricacies of staging a musical but have also discovered new dimensions of self-expression and self-confidence. Teachers and students alike have embraced the creative process, learning valuable lessons in teamwork and communication.
This year’s Disney Musical’s in School season will conclude with Student Share Celebration on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall. Over 200 students from the participating schools will perform excerpts from The Jungle Book Kids, Finding Nemo Kids, and Frozen Kids, highlighting the incredible journey they have undertaken as part of this transformational program. Student Share will be hosted by Maria Hall-Brown, a well-regarded journalist, television producer, and actor who has been a prominent enthusiast and advocate for arts in Orange County.
Segerstrom Center for the Art’s Vice President of Education, Talena Mara shares “The past few months has been a testament to the resilience, creativity, and passion of the students, teachers, and administrators involved in the Disney Musicals in Schools program. We have witnessed incredible growth and camaraderie among the participants, and the Student Share celebration will be the perfect platform to not only showcase their achievements but display the impact of a decade of dedicated arts education.”
Segerstrom Center is thrilled that the majority of Orange County schools served by this program since 2014 are continuing the tradition of musical theater on their campus These include: Arbolita Elementary (La Habra), Riverdale Elementary (Garden Grove), Santiago Elementary (Santa Ana), Agnes Ware Stanley Elementary (Garden Grove), Ethan B. Allen Elementary (Fountain Valley), Westmont Elementary (Westminster), Adelaide Price Elementary (Anaheim), Eisenhower Elementary (Garden Grove), Rea Elementary (Costa Mesa), Hill Elementary (Garden Grove), James Madison Elementary (Santa Ana), Sequoia Academy Elementary (Westminster), Newhope Elementary (Garden Grove), Sycamore Elementary (Orange), Las Lomas Elementary (La Habra), Vessels Elementary (Cypress), Garfield Elementary (Santa Ana), Arthur F. Corey Elementary (Buena Park), Webber Elementary (Westminster), Adams Elementary (Santa Ana), Helen Estock Elementary (Tustin), Benjamin Franklin Elementary (Santa Ana), Martin Luther King Elementary (Santa Ana), Oak View Elementary (Huntington Beach), and Alexander J. Stoddard Elementary (Anaheim).
For more information on Disney Musicals in Schools at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, visit
https://www.scfta.org/disney-
Disney Musicals in Schools was developed by Disney Theatrical group and began in 2010 in
New York City spurred by DTG’s concern that under-resourced public elementary schools were
not afforded equitable access to the arts. Disney Musicals in Schools is designed to help
Orange County public elementary schools create sustainable musical theater programs. The
Segerstrom Center launched the program in 2014. Now in the tenth year of its partnership with
Disney Theatricals Productions, the Center has brought the 17-week residency to 33 Title 1
schools in Orange County, helping to impact over 6,000 students.
Disney KIDS Musicals, created in partnership with Music Theatre International (MTI), are
about 30 minutes long and designed for elementary performers (available shows include: 101
Dalmatians, Aladdin, The Artistocats, Finding Nemo, Frozen, The Jungle Book, The Lion King,
and Winnie the Pooh). Each school is provided with a ShowKit which includes a director’s guide,
student scripts, cross-curricular activities, accompaniment and rehearsal CDs, and a
choreography DVD, free in-school support from a team of two Teaching Artists, and free
performance rights to the 30 minutes Disney KIDS musical. Students work in teams to develop
self-confidence, strengthen communication and collaboration skills all while learning and
enjoying the process of creating a Disney musical theater production.
DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP (DTG) a division of The Walt Disney Studios, operates under the direction of Andrew Flatt, Anne Quart and Thomas Schumacher. The group produces and licenses Broadway productions around the world, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida, TARZAN®, Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, Aladdin, and Frozen, winning 20 Tony® Awards and 62 nominations for their Broadway productions. Other stage ventures include the Olivier-nominated London hit Shakespeare in Love, stage productions of Disney’s High School Musical, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame in Berlin and King David in concert on Broadway. Disney Theatrical Group has collaborated with the nation’s preeminent theatres to develop new stage musicals including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Freaky Friday and Hercules. As a part of the recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney Theatrical Group also heads the Buena Vista Theatrical banner, which licenses Fox titles for stage adaptations including Anastasia, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Mrs. Doubtfire. Next on the Disney Theatrical schedule: the world-premiere of Hercules in Hamburg, Germany and the North American tour of a reimagined production of Beauty and The Beast in 2025.
MUSIC THEATER INTERNATIONAL (MTI) is one of the world’s leading theatrical licensing
agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection
of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and
orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and
engaging art form.
MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide
official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 100,000
professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 countries worldwide.
MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre and has created special collections to
meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior®
shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-
aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high
school students.
MTI maintains its global headquarters in New York City with additional offices in London (MTI
Europe) and Melbourne (MTI Australasia).
Segerstrom Center for the Arts is an innovative, nonprofit arts organization committed to
supporting artistic excellence, creating impactful educational programs, and dedicated to
engaging a culturally connected, inclusive and vital Orange County community for all, through
the power of live performance.
As the leading cultural arts hub, the Center presents a variety of programming with
performances by international dance companies, Broadway national tours, jazz and cabaret
musicians, chamber orchestras and ensembles, comedy, and speaker series. Through the
Education and Community Engagement departments, the Center also delivers family-friendly
programming and performances on the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza; these events
include outdoor movie screenings, concerts, dance classes, diverse festivals and more.
With six venues on a beautiful multi-disciplinary campus, Segerstrom Center for the Arts proudly
serves as the artistic home to three of the region’s major performing arts organizations: Pacific
Symphony, Philharmonic Society of Orange County and Pacific Chorale as well as two
independently acclaimed organizations: Tony Award®-winning South Coast Repertory and
the Orange County Museum of Art. Segerstrom Center is also home to the American Ballet
Theatre William J. Gillespie School and Studio D, Arts School for All Abilities.
Segerstrom Center for the Arts applauds its Official Health Care Partner, Kaiser Permanente.
The information provided is accurate at the time of printing but is subject to change. Segerstrom
Center for the Arts is a public, non-profit organization. “Segerstrom Center for the Arts” is a
registered trademark.
