NEW YORK CITY: Producers of the new Broadway musical Kimberly Akimbo have announced plans to launch the Great Adventure Grants, an annual initiative that will fund three local high school musical theatre productions next year, helping to defray licensing, production, and other costs associated with each school’s upcoming musical. The grants seek to support student theatre artists as they embark on the “great adventure” of musical theatre.
The recipients of this year’s grants are the Denzel Washington School of the Arts in Mount Vernon, N.Y.; the High Tech High School in Secaucus, N.J.; and the Pan American International High School in Queens, N.Y. Each school will receive a grant of $10,000.
“Like the aspiring show choir characters in Kimberly Akimbo, student performers need financial support to help realize their dreams,” said the show’s director, Jessica Stone, in a statement. “We are very proud to be able to support these three public school arts programs and look forward to seeing their fully realized productions next year.”
Kimberly Akimbo, a new musical about growing up and growing old (in no particular order), was named Best Musical by the New York Drama Critics Circle, The Drama Desk Awards, The Lucille Lortel Awards, and the Outer Critics Circle Awards. It is currently nominated for eight Tony Awards. The musical features book and lyrics by David Lindsay-Abaire, based on his acclaimed play of the same name; music by Jeanine Tesori; choreography by Danny Mefford; and direction by Stone.
