Broadway on Rustaveli (September 19-20)
The U.S. Embassy in Tbilisi and the Rustaveli Theatre
sponsored a landmark initiative with Georgian teenagers called "Kids Broadway"
to increase cultural understanding through music and dance. Dancers, singers and musicians, 12 - 18 years
old and representing cities throughout Georgia, responded to the U.S. Embassy's
invitation to audition before a panel of Georgian master performers. Eighty three of the young performers were
selected to join an ensemble cast guided by visiting American theater
professionals and directed by Eugene O'Neill Theater Center founder George C.
White. The American team included Broadway luminaries Judy Blazer, Edie
Cowan, Joe Cassidy, Kristyn Pope and Paulette Haupt, who taught tap-dance,
singing, and the iconic Broadway sound to the cast and orchestra. FLEX exchange alums assisted as stage mangers
and translators. A student from the Art Academy designed the "Kids Broadway"
poster and street banner, a winning entry for an Embassy-sponsored art
competition. The culminating
performance wove a narrative of the history of the United States and its
musical theater heritage with twelve numbers from classic musicals such as
"Oklahoma" and "There's No Business Like Show Business." Capacity crowds filled Tbilisi's historic Rustaveli
Theatre on opening night. An innovative approach to cultural sharing, the "Kids
Broadway" project garnered national and local media attention throughout the
entire production process. Local media
covered auditions, Georgia's public television station taped the opening night
performance for future broadcast, and "Kids Broadway" was also selected to be the
subject of a student documentary film.
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