About
Broadway On Tour Youth Theater offers live theatre for young actors and families, with a focus on theater arts and performance. Participants can audition for shows, and the program also allows families to rent costumes for productions.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Broadway On Tour was founded in 1989 with the goal of providing a professional environment for children and young adults to learn theater arts and performance and has been in continuous operation at various locations around Orange County. The organization operates with a volunteer board of directors that handles show production and administration, while artistic staff for each show are hired as contractors, and all shows are properly licensed. Broadway On Tour maintains a long-term relationship with its performance venue and offers a subscription email list for show and audition information.
The leadership team includes Laurie Holden (Board President, Artistic Director), Daniel Halkyard (Founder), John Blaylock (Director, Musical Director, Literary Manager), Crystal Dancer (Choreographer), Sarah Grandpré (Musical Director), and Michelle Hernandez (Musical Director). John Blaylock holds an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Sarah Grandpré earned her B.A. in Vocal Performance and Music Education and has over fifteen years of teaching and directing experience in Southern California, with performance highlights including Brahms’ Requiem at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major at Royce Hall, and international performances with Hour of Power, Live!. Michelle Hernandez is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and CAP21.
Broadway On Tour’s mission is to provide Orange County and the surrounding area with affordable live theatre for young actors and families by giving aspiring performers a safe place to learn and explore the arts while receiving theatre training in an environment that reflects diversity, inclusion, fairness, and opportunity. The organization states that it is committed to creating a safe space to foster the growth and creativity of youth in a theatrical environment, and it strives for its stages, board, and audience to mirror the diverse community of Orange County. Broadway On Tour has supplied select community groups with complimentary seats to each of its productions.
The program is committed to diversity, inclusion, fairness, and opportunity, including open casting for all roles regardless of race, color, gender, or socio-economic status, and casting of youth performers who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) or LGBTQ+. The board is open to members who identify as women, BIPOC, or LGBTQ+, and the current board is 90% female and includes members of the Asian and LGBTQ+ community. Every performance includes open captioning to make shows accessible to deaf and hard of hearing audience members, and the program offers sensory friendly adjustments to accommodate neurodiverse theatre patrons.
Laurie Holden was nominated for National Youth Art's Best Director award for the 2019 Broadway On Tour production of Be More Chill. John Blaylock received the National Youth Arts Outstanding Director award for his direction of the 2019 Broadway On Tour production of Sweeney Todd. Voices of Hope Children’s Choir, founded and directed by Sarah Grandpré, earned the “Golden Buzzer” and the title of semi-finalists on season 13 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent and most recently competed on America’s Got Talent: All-Stars.
Last updated July 31, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
Broadway On Tour was founded in 1989 with the goal of providing a professional environment for children and young adults to learn theater arts and performance and has been in continuous operation at various locations around Orange County. The organization operates with a volunteer board of directors that handles show production and administration, while artistic staff for each show are hired as contractors, and all shows are properly licensed. Broadway On Tour maintains a long-term relationship with its performance venue and offers a subscription email list for show and audition information.
The leadership team includes Laurie Holden (Board President, Artistic Director), Daniel Halkyard (Founder), John Blaylock (Director, Musical Director, Literary Manager), Crystal Dancer (Choreographer), Sarah Grandpré (Musical Director), and Michelle Hernandez (Musical Director). John Blaylock holds an MFA from the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. Sarah Grandpré earned her B.A. in Vocal Performance and Music Education and has over fifteen years of teaching and directing experience in Southern California, with performance highlights including Brahms’ Requiem at Carnegie Hall, Beethoven’s Mass in C Major at Royce Hall, and international performances with Hour of Power, Live!. Michelle Hernandez is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts and CAP21.
Broadway On Tour’s mission is to provide Orange County and the surrounding area with affordable live theatre for young actors and families by giving aspiring performers a safe place to learn and explore the arts while receiving theatre training in an environment that reflects diversity, inclusion, fairness, and opportunity. The organization states that it is committed to creating a safe space to foster the growth and creativity of youth in a theatrical environment, and it strives for its stages, board, and audience to mirror the diverse community of Orange County. Broadway On Tour has supplied select community groups with complimentary seats to each of its productions.
The program is committed to diversity, inclusion, fairness, and opportunity, including open casting for all roles regardless of race, color, gender, or socio-economic status, and casting of youth performers who identify as Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) or LGBTQ+. The board is open to members who identify as women, BIPOC, or LGBTQ+, and the current board is 90% female and includes members of the Asian and LGBTQ+ community. Every performance includes open captioning to make shows accessible to deaf and hard of hearing audience members, and the program offers sensory friendly adjustments to accommodate neurodiverse theatre patrons.
Laurie Holden was nominated for National Youth Art's Best Director award for the 2019 Broadway On Tour production of Be More Chill. John Blaylock received the National Youth Arts Outstanding Director award for his direction of the 2019 Broadway On Tour production of Sweeney Todd. Voices of Hope Children’s Choir, founded and directed by Sarah Grandpré, earned the “Golden Buzzer” and the title of semi-finalists on season 13 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent and most recently competed on America’s Got Talent: All-Stars.
Last updated July 31, 2026.
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