About
Rosie’s Theater Kids offers musical theater, music, dance, and drama, along with structured academic guidance that includes high school auditions and applications support, SAT prep classes, college prep classes, and an internship program. The PS Broadway program is a 15-week in-school program for fifth graders that includes a weekly one-hour musical theater class led by trained teaching artists and professional musicians, a private concert with a Broadway performer, and a final student performance. ACTE II is a year-round scholarship program for students in grades 6–12 that provides PS Broadway graduates with ongoing performing arts education and structured academic support.
• Ages: 10–18 years old
• Schedule: PS Broadway is a 15-week program that includes a weekly one-hour musical theater class.
Rosie’s Theater Kids is an arts education organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children through the arts and serves students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience theater by offering comprehensive classes in music, dance, and drama, along with mentoring and academic guidance. The organization uses musical theater and arts education to teach important life skills and has shared musical theater experiences with more than 25,000 New York City public school students and their families through programs such as PS Broadway, which is primarily taught at low income schools. Year-round classes in music, dance, and drama are paired with personalized academic guidance, college prep classes, and mentoring in what the organization describes as a safe and nurturing environment, and Rosie’s Theater Kids states that its students are “rehearsing for life.”
Rosie’s Theater Kids was founded on April 10, 2003, and established Arts Plus in spring 2003 to assist its first class of eighth graders with high school auditions and applications. In spring 2005, the PS Broadway pilot program began with a class of 40 fifth grade students at PS 51 in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. In fall 2004, the first class of ACTE II scholarship students was selected from the PS Broadway program and began a seven-year Rosie’s Theater Kids journey, and ACTE II students later performed eight shows in Tony Kushner’s Brundibar Off-Broadway at the New Victory Theater in spring 2006. Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation purchased the building that became the Maravel Arts Center, and in January 2009 Rosie’s Theater Kids held a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the Maravel Arts Center to students and staff. The organization produced its first original musical, My Life: Today, in spring 2008, informed by the writings and ideas of ACTE II students, and later premiered the musical documentary “Rosie’s Theater Kids,” produced by Board Member and film producer Sheila Nevins, in November 2022.
Rosie’s Theater Kids has a history of academic and scholarship support, including helping its first class of high school seniors apply to college in fall 2010 by providing SAT prep classes and other needs, and launching its Scholastic and Artistic Merit Scholarship in June 2014 with a $500K gift to support outstanding high school seniors. The organization has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and, during its 15th anniversary, was awarded a $50K grant by the New York State Council on the Arts to re-launch an internship program. First Lady Michelle Obama awarded the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award to Rosie’s Theater Kids at the White House, and students from the program were invited back to the White House to perform at the last State Dinner of the Obama Administration in October 2016. Rosie’s Theater Kids hosts an annual Passing It On Gala, which features performances for an audience of over 600 family and friends, and the organization celebrated its 20th anniversary at this gala in April 2023, after hosting its first in-person gala since the start of the pandemic at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College in April 2022.
Educators and families have shared feedback about the program. A principal at PS 130 reported that the PS Broadway program improved student self-confidence and that this change carried into the classroom, especially for English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities, and described witnessing student transformation through the program. A fifth grade teacher at CPEII stated that PS Broadway works with and cares about the whole child, highlighting the way teaching artists motivate students to embrace something new and continue to support alumni. A mentor and choreographer, Chase Brock, described the curriculum and ethos of Rosie’s Theater Kids as thoughtful, expert, and tailor-made for each student’s needs, and said that students blossom in what he called a nurturing environment. A parent, Jessie Chun, expressed gratitude that Rosie’s Theater Kids provided her sons with what she called a holistic education that supported soft skills, a love for the arts, and academic growth, and an alumnus, Zach from the Class of 2017, stated that he had not realized the impact an arts education could have and that at age 22 he was planning to pursue a master’s degree in theater.
Last updated April 17, 2026.
• Ages: 10–18 years old
• Schedule: PS Broadway is a 15-week program that includes a weekly one-hour musical theater class.
Rosie’s Theater Kids is an arts education organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children through the arts and serves students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience theater by offering comprehensive classes in music, dance, and drama, along with mentoring and academic guidance. The organization uses musical theater and arts education to teach important life skills and has shared musical theater experiences with more than 25,000 New York City public school students and their families through programs such as PS Broadway, which is primarily taught at low income schools. Year-round classes in music, dance, and drama are paired with personalized academic guidance, college prep classes, and mentoring in what the organization describes as a safe and nurturing environment, and Rosie’s Theater Kids states that its students are “rehearsing for life.”
Rosie’s Theater Kids was founded on April 10, 2003, and established Arts Plus in spring 2003 to assist its first class of eighth graders with high school auditions and applications. In spring 2005, the PS Broadway pilot program began with a class of 40 fifth grade students at PS 51 in Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. In fall 2004, the first class of ACTE II scholarship students was selected from the PS Broadway program and began a seven-year Rosie’s Theater Kids journey, and ACTE II students later performed eight shows in Tony Kushner’s Brundibar Off-Broadway at the New Victory Theater in spring 2006. Rosie’s For All Kids Foundation purchased the building that became the Maravel Arts Center, and in January 2009 Rosie’s Theater Kids held a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the Maravel Arts Center to students and staff. The organization produced its first original musical, My Life: Today, in spring 2008, informed by the writings and ideas of ACTE II students, and later premiered the musical documentary “Rosie’s Theater Kids,” produced by Board Member and film producer Sheila Nevins, in November 2022.
Rosie’s Theater Kids has a history of academic and scholarship support, including helping its first class of high school seniors apply to college in fall 2010 by providing SAT prep classes and other needs, and launching its Scholastic and Artistic Merit Scholarship in June 2014 with a $500K gift to support outstanding high school seniors. The organization has received a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and, during its 15th anniversary, was awarded a $50K grant by the New York State Council on the Arts to re-launch an internship program. First Lady Michelle Obama awarded the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award to Rosie’s Theater Kids at the White House, and students from the program were invited back to the White House to perform at the last State Dinner of the Obama Administration in October 2016. Rosie’s Theater Kids hosts an annual Passing It On Gala, which features performances for an audience of over 600 family and friends, and the organization celebrated its 20th anniversary at this gala in April 2023, after hosting its first in-person gala since the start of the pandemic at the Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College in April 2022.
Educators and families have shared feedback about the program. A principal at PS 130 reported that the PS Broadway program improved student self-confidence and that this change carried into the classroom, especially for English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities, and described witnessing student transformation through the program. A fifth grade teacher at CPEII stated that PS Broadway works with and cares about the whole child, highlighting the way teaching artists motivate students to embrace something new and continue to support alumni. A mentor and choreographer, Chase Brock, described the curriculum and ethos of Rosie’s Theater Kids as thoughtful, expert, and tailor-made for each student’s needs, and said that students blossom in what he called a nurturing environment. A parent, Jessie Chun, expressed gratitude that Rosie’s Theater Kids provided her sons with what she called a holistic education that supported soft skills, a love for the arts, and academic growth, and an alumnus, Zach from the Class of 2017, stated that he had not realized the impact an arts education could have and that at age 22 he was planning to pursue a master’s degree in theater.
Last updated April 17, 2026.
Is this your business? There is no cost, but you will be asked to sign up or log in.