On Thursday, May 29, 2025, hundreds of elementary students from Pittsburgh will have the extraordinary opportunity to sing and dance on the Benedum Center stage as the result of a grant awarded to the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust by Disney Theatrical Group.
The grant from Disney enables the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to offer the Disney Musicals in Schools program to nine schools in Allegheny County. The program is designed to create sustainable theater programs in public elementary schools. Through the program, participating schools produce a Disney KIDS musical in their school community and join in a culminating performance –Disney Musicals in Schools Student Share Celebration-- at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Benedum Center, 237 Seventh Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.
The Disney Musicals in Schools celebration at the Benedum Center is closed to the public except for invited guests of participating schools.
The seven alumni schools participating in the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 2025 Disney Musicals in Schools program are:
Penn Hills Elementary School (Penn Hills, PA), United at Twin Rivers Elementary School (McKeesport, PA), Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School (Pittsburgh, PA), Young Scholars of Greater Allegheny Charter School (McKeesport, PA), Pittsburgh Dilworth PreK-5 (Pittsburgh, PA), Turner Intermediate School (Wilkinsburg, PA), and Pittsburgh Faison K-5 (Pittsburgh, PA).
The two first-year schools participating in the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 2025 Disney Musicals in Schools program are:
Environmental Charter School Intermediate (Pittsburgh, PA), Clairton Elementary School (Clairton, PA).
The 2025 selected schools participated in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of teaching artists trained by Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Disney Theatrical Group. Each school received performance rights, educational support materials and guidance from the teaching artists. The program featured a professional development focus, through which participating schoolteachers partnered with Pittsburgh Cultural Trust teaching artists to learn how to produce, direct, choreograph and music direct, culminating in their first 30-minute Disney KIDS musical at their school. Using the unique world of musical theater, Disney Musicals in Schools help to foster positive relationships between students, faculty, staff, parents, and the community. Students and teachers work in teams, developing the wide spectrum of skills needed when producing a piece of musical theater, including critical thinking, problem solving, ensemble building, communication, self-confidence, and interpersonal skills.
The 2025 Disney Musicals in Schools participants will perform the following musicals at their schools AristocatsKIDS: Environmental Charter School Intermediate; 101 Dalmatians KIDS: Clairton Elementary.
In addition, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is pleased to share that all seven public schools who successfully participated in the 2024 DMIS program continued to produce musicals at their schools in 2025. They include: AristocatsKIDS: Pittsburgh Dilworth PreK-5; Aladdin KIDS: Twin Rivers Elementary School, Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School, Young Scholars of Greater Allegheny Charter School; Finding Nemo KIDS: Penn Hills Elementary School; Winnie the Pooh KIDS: Turner Intermediate School United; Frozen Kids: Pittsburgh Fasion.
Brooke Horejsi, Chief Programming and Engagement Officer Pittsburgh Cultural Trust notes, “We admire and appreciate all the schools, teachers, students, and student families who have participated in the Disney Musicals in Schools program. The collaboration of everyone involved is truly magical, and we can’t wait to see that magic onstage and celebrate their achievements at the Student Share Celebration.”
The Student Share Celebration on May 29, 2025, at the Benedum Center is the culmination of this year’s Disney Musicals in Schools program. Students from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 2024 Disney Musicals in Schools program will also participate in the celebration. For information about Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Education programs, visit: www.TrustArts.org/Education.
Disney Musicals in Schools launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Group’s interest in supporting under-resourced public elementary schools and providing opportunities for equitable access to the arts. After successfully offering the program in New York City schools, Disney Theatrical Group began collaborating with organizations in other communities across the United States.
Disney KIDS musicals, created in partnership with Music Theater International (MTI), are 30-minute musicals designed for elementary school performers and have been adapted from the classic Disney films 101 Dalmatians, Aladdin, Frozen, The Aristocats, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Winnie the Pooh.
