The Disney Musicals in Schools program presented by Dee and Jimmy Haslam is marking its magical 10th anniversary at Playhouse Square. Through this program, Playhouse Square accepts applications and chooses elementary schools to launch new theater programs for third to fifth graders to participate in a 19-week musical theater residency. The residency culminates in a 30-minute Disney KIDS musical at each school.
“The Disney Musicals in Schools program allows students – many of whom might not have had the opportunity otherwise – to experience the arts and musical theater at a pivotal age,” said Daniel Hahn, Vice President of Education, Playhouse Square. “More than 1,000 Northeast Ohio students have participated in the program over the past ten years. They have the chance to shine both on and off stage, learn the importance of teamwork with their classmates and teachers and, most importantly, grow in their self-confidence.”
As a part of the program, first-year schools receive performance rights, educational support materials and guidance from local, professional teaching artists – all at no cost to them. The teaching artists work with the classroom educators, training them to produce a musical and to create a sustainable theater program in their schools.
Hahn continued, “Since the launch of the program in 2015, Playhouse Square has helped to build musical theater programs at 31 elementary schools throughout Cuyahoga, Lake and Lorain Counties. From seeing the excitement of our first-year schools on opening night to the passion of our returning schools as they continue to cultivate their programs, Disney Musicals in Schools not only impacts the students and their educators, but their entire communities.”
The schools selected as first-year participants for the 2024-25 school year include Clara E. Westropp School of the Arts (Cleveland), Constellation Schools: Westside Community School of the Arts (Cleveland) and Lomond Elementary School (Shaker Heights) and Marion-Sterling School (Cleveland).
These four schools also have the unique opportunity to take center stage at Playhouse Square’s Mimi Ohio Theatre in early March as a part of the Student Share Celebration. At this private event, students perform musical selections for an audience of family members and their school communities.
The Disney Musicals in Schools program is an education initiative developed by Disney Theatrical Group to create ongoing theater programs in local elementary schools, specifically for third through fifth grade students. The program helps to keep the arts in schools and utilizes the unique world of musical theater to build positive relationships between students, faculty, staff, parents and the community. Students work in teams to develop or restore self-confidence, strengthen communication and collaboration skills all while learning and enjoying the process of creating a musical theater production. Applications and eligibility requirements for the 2025-26 school year are now available at playhousesquare.org/disney-musicals-in-schools.
Disney KIDS musicals, created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are about 30 minutes in length and have been adapted from the classic Disney films: 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, The Aristocats, Finding Nemo, Frozen, The Jungle Book, The Lion King and Winnie the Pooh.