The program is a partnership between NBC and iTheatrics (which creates the Broadway JR musical series) that seeks to plant and nurture self-sustaining theatre programs in schools where there is limited-to-no arts programming. The first round of schools was announced in January.
A second round of 30 schools has now been announced as finalists for the next wave of Make a Musical programming. The public has been invited to vote on which schools will earn one of the next ten slots.
Click here to browse the schools and vote. Winners will be selected May 7.
The program supplies each school with the MTI Broadway JR Collection showkit (musicals like Annie, Into the Woods, Fiddler On the Roof and Once On This Island are part of the catalogue), as well as a professional arts advisor, who will guide teachers and students through the process of staging a musical. A technical theatre stipend and master classes with iTheatrics team will also be part of the "Smash" sponsorship. Each program will result in public performances, with the intent that the program will continue the following year.
Music Theatre International CEO Freddie Gershon, who created the Broadway JR program, is the recipient of a 2012 Tony Awards Honors for Excellence for his work. MTI licenses the Broadway JR titles. iTheatrics is aiming to add 180 more "Make a Musical" programs later this fall, with the goal of more than 1,000 new school arts programs spawned across the U.S. by 2014.