Tour promotes learning through musical theater
West Point Lights! Music! It’s showtime, folks, when “Discover Theater!,” featuring Disney’s “Cinderella Kids” and “The Jungle Book Kids” comes to West Point’s Eisenhower Hall Theatre for two shows, at 10:30 a.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 29. Or perhaps not quite yet-as Mrs. Wigglesworth announces that this year’s all-school musical has been canceled. Can a group of regular kids save the day? With brain-power, cooperation and most important-their imaginations-you bet they can! Designed to promote education through the power of musical theater, this 60-minute production features the timeless stories of Disney’s “Cinderella Kids” and “The Jungle Book Kids” from Music Theatre International’s Kids Collection. How is Cinderella’s carriage made to magically appear? How is a river created in the middle of the stage, for Mowgli to swim? Creating fictional worlds onstage is not always easy, and sometimes the young heroes disagree, but in the end, they show that anything is possible once you let imagination out of the box. Participants will learn about the importance of teamwork and ingenuity as six kids bring the memorable stories and songs of these beloved Disney classics to life. In a unique collaboration, Disney Theatrical Productions and Music Theatre International have created stage adaptations of some of Disney’s classic animated and live-action feature properties for licensing to the nation’s schools through MTI’s innovative Broadway Junior/MTI KIDS division. “The show works on multiple levels,” says Stephen Gabriel, president of IntraMusic Theatricals, who leads an accomplished team of creators and designers in producing this tour. “First, as pure entertainment with the wonderful Disney songs and characters; next as a dramatization of important children’s literature; and finally as a example of how kids can solve one problem after another, while putting on a show.’” “Discover Theater!,” developed by IntraMusic Theatricals in association with MTI and DTP, is designed to encourage the licensing and production of these beloved shows and demonstrate the educational potential of exposing children to musical theater. “Performing arts centers around the country serve as leaders in arts education,” observes Gabriel. “Schools and community groups look to these organizations for programming that not only entertains, but also engages the local arts curriculum.” Purchase “Discover Theater!” tickets online at www.ikehall.com. Seats are $20. Tickets are also on sale at the Box Office and via Telecharge at 1-800-233-3123.