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It is Theatre Development Fund's belief that future audiences are built by engaging students, first-hand, in the vital and exciting activity of the creative process, as well as providing opportunities to see live performances of great theatre. To that end, 1,400 New York City public high school students from 19 schools, representing all five boroughs, who are participating in TDF's Stage Doors Program, will be attending the matinee performance of Broadway’s smash hit, Kinky Boots on Wednesday, November 18 at 2pm at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre (302 West 45th Street, NYC).

“We’re so excited to have the entire house so that 1400 students in our Stage Doors program will be able to experience Kinky Boots. For many of them it will be their first Broadway show,” said Daniel Renner, TDF’s Director of Education. “The show’s themes of accepting others, changing your mind to change your world, cooperation in the workplace, and just living your life “full-out” are all qualities educators strive to instill in their students. Our Stage Doors students come to the theatre well prepared, having engaged in a series of intense workshops around the issues the show touches on. These kids are going to be transformed!”

The 1,400 students from the 19 New York City public high schools who will see Kinky Boots through TDF's Stage Doors Program are from: THE BRONX: Bronx Center for Science and Math, Bronx Community High School, Bronx Leadership Academy, DeWitt Clinton High School, Monroe Campus BROOKLYN: Academy of Hospitality and Tourism High School, Brooklyn College High School, Brooklyn School for Music and Theatre, Lyons Community School MANHATTAN: City College Academy of the Arts, Democracy Prep Charter Middle School, Democracy Prep Endurance Middle School, High School of Fashion Industries, Humanities Preparatory Academy, Talent Unlimited High School, Young Women’s Leadership QUEENS: Queens High School for Sciences at York College, Robert F. Wagner Jr. High School STATEN ISLAND: Susan E. Wagner High School.

TDF's STAGE DOORS, which is provided at no cost to the schools or students, is a project-based arts education program that provides middle and high school students with a meaningful introduction to live theatre.  Each participating class attends a Broadway or Off Broadway performance and participates in eight in-class workshops: four workshops conducted by a TDF teaching artist and the other four conducted by the classroom teacher.  The workshops engage students in discussion, writing, reading and improvisation to prepare them for their experience at the theatre. Over 65,000 students have been served through TDF's Stage Doors since the program was founded in 1995.

ABOUT KINKY BOOTS: Inspired by a true story and based on the Miramax motion picture written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth, Kinky Boots features a warm and witty book by four-time Tony Award-winner Harvey Fierstein and a richly diverse musical score from Grammy and Tony Award-winning rock icon Cyndi Lauper, in her stunning theatrical debut. Two-time Tony Award-winner Jerry Mitchell has crafted a production that moves, inspires and sets the audience's feet dancing. Kinky Boots won six 2013 Tony® Awards, the most of any show this season, including Best Musical, Best Score (Cyndi Lauper), Best Choreography (Jerry Mitchell), Best Actor (Billy Porter), Best Orchestrations (Stephen Oremus), and Best Sound Design (John Shivers). Led by producers Daryl Roth and Hal Luftig, the show also received the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, and Broadway.com Awards for Best Musical and the Grammy® Award for Best Musical Album, along with many other accolades.

THEATRE DEVELOPMENT FUND (TDF) was created in the conviction that the live theatrical arts afford a unique expression of the human condition that must be sustained and nurtured. It is dedicated to developing diverse audiences for live theatre and dance, and strengthening the performing arts community in New York City. Since 1968, TDF’s programs have provided over 90 million people with access to performances at affordable prices and have returned over $2.5 billion to thousands of productions. Best known for its TKTS Discount Booths, TDF’s membership, outreach, access (including its internationally renowned Autism Theatre Initiative) and award-winning education programs — as well as its Costume Collection — have introduced thousands of people to the theatre and helped make the unique experience of theatre available to everyone, including students and people with disabilities. Recent TDF honors include a 2011 Mayor’s Award for Arts and Culture, a 2012 Tony Honor for Excellence for its Open Doors Arts Education Program, a 2012 New York Innovative Theatre Award for its support of the off-Off Broadway community, and a 2013 Lortel Award “Outstanding Body of Work Award.”

For more about TDF's Arts Education programs to go:  www.tdf.org or about Kinky Boots at their official Web site: www.kinkybootsthemusical.com or Twitter: @KinkyBootsBway.

Stage Doors is made possible by the generous support of Bay and Paul Foundations, Con Edison, Continental Grain Foundation, the Chengzhong Culture and Education Focus Foundation, Sony Corporation of America, The Angela and Scott Jaggar Foundation, Inc., The Good Neighbor Committee of The Ford Foundation and The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation.
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