'Experience PPAC' Initiative Gives Students A Taste Of Broadway

PROVIDENCE, RI – The Providence Performing Arts Center announced this week that it will be offering free admission to local high schools students for three upcoming Broadway shows. The "Experience PPAC" initiative will provide admission and transportation to and from Fiddler on the Roof, Come From Away and a third, not yet announced show for every tenth grader in the state.

"PPAC’s Board of Directors is pleased to be able to offer students the chance to see a live Broadway production right here at the theater. Through this program, we are ensuring that every student in Rhode Island will ‘experience PPAC’ and the ‘world of Broadway,’" said Dana Brazil, PPAC’s director of education. "Participating in and exposure to the arts positively affects the lives of students: it increases self-esteem, inspires creativity, and helps to build communication skills, among many other benefits."

The theater is providing free bus transportation to and from the shows, and there will be no cost to schools.

The first show in the program was The Phantom of the Opera last Thursday, which is playing at PPAC through Sunday. After the show, students had the opportunity to talk with the cast and members of the company. At a press conference announcing the program earlier this week, students and teachers from West Warwick High School and Central High School
spoke about what seeing the show meant to them.

PPAC said in a press release that schools will be sent show guides ahead of the performances to encourage students and teachers to learn more. Additional information is available on PPAC's website.