Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Contacts:
Diana Roth, Senior Communications Manager
roth@trustarts.org | 412-471-8717
Derek Scalzott | Senior Director Strategic Communications & Special Advisor to President scalzott@trustarts.org | 412-471-8715
Media Assets, DMIS (past program): HERE.
https://pctrust.sharefile.com/public/share/web-s86649c3b895244bb8ad62bca85cb9319
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Announces
Disney Musicals in Schools
Brings Together Students in the Spotlight on
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Benedum Center Stage.
Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is among select arts organizations around the world collaborating with Disney Musicals in Schools!
Pittsburgh, PA (May 6, 2026) – On Wednesday, May 20, 2026, hundreds of elementary students from the Pittsburgh area 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.
The grant from Disney enables the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust to offer the Disney Musicals in Schools program to nine schools across Allegheny, Greene, and Washington Counties. The program is designed to create sustainable theater program in elementary schools. Through the program, participant 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 7th Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15222.
“Brooke Horejsi, Chief Programming and Engagement Officer for the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, said, “We are excited to welcome all the teachers, students, and families to the Benedum Center for this year’s Student Share Celebration. Putting a spotlight on these young performers, alongside the educators and loved ones who support them, is such a joyful experience.”
The nine schools involved in this year’s program included four schools participating for the first time: Allison Park Elementary School (The Aristocats KIDS); Jefferson-Morgan Elementary School (presented The Lion King KIDS); Pittsburgh Sunnyside K-8 (The Lion King KIDS) and Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf (Finding Nemo KIDS); and the five returning alumni schools are: Environmental Charter School Intermediate (The Jungle Book KIDS), Clairton Elementary School (Aladdin KIDS), Twin Rivers Elementary School (Frozen KIDS), Penn Hills Elementary School (Aladdin KIDS) and Urban Academy of Greater Pittsburgh Charter School (Frozen KIDS).
The selected schools participated in a 17-week musical theater residency, led by a team of teaching artists trained by the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and Disney Theatrical Group, at no cost. 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. The Student Share Celebration is the culmination of this year’s program.
Media Opportunity:
The Disney Musicals in Schools Student Share Celebration on May 20, 2026, 11:30 a.m., at the Benedum Center is closed to the public except for invited guests of participating schools. Members of the media are encouraged to attend to experience the event’s impact on students and families throughout our communities. To confirm attendance, interested media should reply in advance to Diana Roth, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, roth@trustarts.org. Media attendance is subject to advance approval with Disney Theatrical Group, in partnership with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust. Since 2019, the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, through the coordination of the Trust Arts Education Division, has been a participating organization in the Disney Musicals in Schools program. The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s Disney Musicals in Schools program is made possible by PNC.
Disney Musicals in Schools was launched in 2010 in response to Disney Theatrical Group’s concern that under-resourced public elementary schools were not afforded 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, Finding Nemo, Frozen, The Aristocats, The Jungle Book, The Lion King, and Winnie the Pooh.
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The Pittsburgh Cultural Trust is one of the nation’s premier arts presenters and a major catalytic influence in Pittsburgh, having overseen one of the city’s most historic transformations: turning a seedy red-light district into a magnet destination for arts-lovers, residents, visitors, and business owners. Founded in 1984, the Cultural Trust presents an array of quality performing and visual arts, provides comprehensive educational experiences, and stewards Pittsburgh’s Cultural District as a national model of economic revitalization through the arts. Lauded as “the single greatest creative force in Pittsburgh,” the Cultural Trust has worked to make Pittsburgh a place where the arts can flourish. The 14-block Cultural District, a project of the Cultural Trust, has become a vibrant center for culture, art, food, and community in downtown Pittsburgh, providing a home for a broad range of performance groups and resident companies. Approximately one million people visit the Cultural District each year, generating more than $175M in economic impact for the region.
TrustArts.org | @CulturalTrust on Facebook · Instagram · TikTok
DISNEY THEATRICAL GROUP, a division of The Walt Disney Studios, operates under the direction of Andrew Flatt, Anne Quart and Thomas Schumacher. The group produces and licenses Broadway productions around the world, including Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, Elton John & Tim Rice’s Aida, TARZAN®, Mary Poppins, a co-production with Cameron Mackintosh, The Little Mermaid, Peter and the Starcatcher, Newsies, Aladdin, and Frozen, winning 20 Tony® Awards and 62 nominations for their Broadway productions. Other stage ventures include the Olivier-nominated London hit Shakespeare in Love, stage productions of Disney’s High School Musical, Der Glöckner Von Notre Dame in Berlin and King David in concert on Broadway. Disney Theatrical Group has collaborated with the nation’s preeminent theatres to develop new stage musicals including The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Freaky Friday and Hercules. As a part of the recent acquisition of 21st Century Fox, Disney Theatrical Group also heads the Buena Vista Theatrical banner, which licenses Fox titles for stage adaptations including Anastasia, Moulin Rouge! The Musical and Mrs. Doubtfire. Next on the Disney Theatrical schedule: the world-premiere of Hercules in Hamburg, Germany and the North American tour of a reimagined production of Beauty and The Beast in 2025.
Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.
MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 100,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 150 countries worldwide.
MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI’s Broadway Junior® shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI’s School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.
MTI maintains its global headquarters in New York City with additional offices in London (MTI Europe) and Melbourne (MTI Australasia).