The students, who are in grades 6-8, will perform songs from the junior editions of musicals including Annie, Once on this Island, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Honk!, Willy Wonka and Aladdin.

This year’s event will be the first ever to take place on a Broadway stage. The event is part of the fifth annual Broadway Junior Student Share program, which allows teaching artists to work with public school students over two years, teaching them the ins and outs of producing a musical as they work to put on a show in their schools.

According to press notes, “Many of the 400-plus youngsters who will participate in Broadway Junior Student Share have never seen a Broadway show, let alone perform on a Broadway stage (not the least of which - the one where the famed Phantom [of the Opera] has been performing more than 9000 times since 1987.)”

The event is sponsored by the Shubert Foundation, Music Theatre International (MTI) and the New York City Department of Education and Arts connection.

Thomas Peter