MTI’s Beetlejuice Jr. pilot production to premiere May 25 and 26 in the Amaturo Theater
FORT LAUDERDALE – Thanks to a longstanding collaboration with industry leader Music Theater International (MTI), students at the Broward Center’s Rose Miniaci Arts Education Center will be among the first to present Beetlejuice Jr., a pilot version of the junior edition of the hit Broadway show, on Thursday, May 25 and Friday, May 26 at 8 p.m.
Since 2019, the Broward Center and MTI have partnered to develop age-appropriate adaptations of Broadway hits. These collaborations are staged at the Broward Center and the final one-hour versions are then made available to more than 100,000 professional, community and school theaters in the U.S. and in more than 150 countries worldwide.
In previous years, students at the Broward Center have been involved in the creation and staging of
Matilda Jr., Something Rotten, Jr! and Best of Broadway Jr. Revue. This year’s pilot program is funded in part by a grant from Florida Theatrical Association. Scholarships for student performers were made available thanks to the generosity of the Ronald Plotkin Scholarship Fund and the Mary Jane Harlow Charitable Trust.
This year’s featured pilot production, Beetlejuice Jr., comes to the stage with an edgy junior adaptation of everyone’s favorite irreverent musical comedy based on Tim Burton’s film. Beetlejuice Jr. tells the hauntingly comedic yet touching story of Lydia Deetz, a strange and unusual teenager obsessed with the whole “being dead thing.” Luckily for Lydia, her new house is haunted by a recently deceased couple, Adam and Barbara Maitland, and Beetlejuice, a delightful demon with a real zest for life.
“This is such an exciting opportunity for student performers to pilot a show and provide feedback in the development process,” said Tammy Holder, Broward Center’s Artist-in-Residence, who has been a driving force behind this initiative. “And we’ve developed a variety of innovative student experiences with area schools to offer three related programs that take learning beyond the stage into the design and technical theater world.”
This year, for the fourth year, the Broward Center partnered with Nova Southeastern University to create a technical theater course that provides a unique, experiential learning opportunity for NSU students to work under close faculty mentorship and professional industry guidance as they develop and build a set for the MTI pilot production.
“They will come to support the load-in, work with Broward Center’s production crew, and get to see the set they created on the professional stage,” added Holder.
Two programs were also created in partnership with Broward County Public Schools. The first is a “Costume Clinic” which allows middle and high school students the opportunity to apply their visual art skills to costume design by meeting with industry professionals, participating in skills building workshops and submitting design ideas for review and feedback. Student designs will be featured in a lobby display on show nights and select costume designs may be built the student performers. The second is a props experience which this year featured a puppet program for Parkway Middle School students. These students are working to design and build props which will be used in the show, following a hands-on workshop with a Broadway puppet master.
“Our goal is to introduce students to opportunities on the stage and behind the scenes, so that students can become familiar with the many facets of a theatrical production,” said Holder. “It’s been so rewarding to watch this pilot program continue to evolve and attract more students to get involved.”
This performance is recommended for ages 10 years and older. Tickets are $20 with $5 lap tickets for children 12 months of age and younger. Buy tickets online at BrowardCenter.org/student-performances or email education@browardcenter.org. Tickets may also be purchased in person at the Broward Center’s AutoNation Box Office. Lap tickets are only available for purchase in person.
The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. For more information visit BrowardCenter.org, like us on Facebook at Facebook.com/BrowardCenter and Facebook.com/BrowardCenterEducation, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @BrowardCenter, subscribe to our channel at Youtube.com/user/BrowardCenter and join the conversation with #BrowardCenter.
The Broward Center 2022/2023 season is supported by the Broward Performing Arts Foundation. AutoNation, Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention & Visitors Bureau, Spirit and Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center are proud sponsors of the Broward Center. Programs are also sponsored in part by the State of Florida through the Division of Arts and Culture and the National Endowment for the Arts.
About The Broward Center for the Performing Arts
One of America’s premier performing arts venues, the Broward Center for the Performing Arts presents more than 700 performances each year to more than 700,000 patrons, showcasing a wide range of exciting cultural programming and events. Guest experiences at the Broward Center include the all-inclusive Spirit Club Level, the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center Intermezzo Lounge, special events in the Huizenga Pavilion, waterfront dining at Marti’s New River Bistro and innovative classes and workshops for all ages at the Rose Miniaci Arts Education Center. With one of the largest arts-in-education programs in the United States, the Broward Center serves more than 130,000 students annually. The Broward Performing Arts Foundation, Inc. receives and maintains funds to sustain, develop and secure the future of the Broward Center. The Broward Center for the Performing Arts is located at 201 SW Fifth Ave. in Fort Lauderdale. For more information, visit BrowardCenter.org.
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