Music Theatre International’s Broadway Senior™ collection features adaptations of popular Broadway musicals specifically developed for the needs and abilities of adult performers 55 and over. Broadway Senior musicals are perfect for a range of organizations including Senior Community Centers, Assisted Living Communities, Community theatres, religious groups and more.
Regardless of ability, age or prior experience, Broadway Senior is "recreational theatre," designed for anyone interested in the joy, camaraderie and life-affirming journey unique to participating in a musical.
With running times of approximately 60-minutes, a performance license for a Broadway Senior musical is a flat fee of $595 and comes complete with everything needed to produce a show from auditions, rehearsals to performances.
Broadway Senior is a program that puts older adults center stage. It empowers people to not simply experience theatre as an audience member or a volunteer – but to be the creators, the singers, the storytellers. For some, they’re taking the stage for the first time. For others, they’re returning to a passion they didn’t know could be available to them in the third act of life.
What’s Included in Your Materials
The Broadway Senior materials are designed to eliminate any barriers to producing a show. The Standard Set of materials includes:
Accessible Actors Scripts
Production Guide with helpful notes on the theatrical process, production elements, etc.
Performance accompaniment tracks
Piano Vocal score
Show logo
All materials will be provided in digital format only.
A Message from Freddie Gershon, MTI's Co-Chairman
Dear Performers, Producers, Directors, Accompanists, Choreographers, Stage Managers, and all those who will help support creating a Broadway Senior production:
I’m excited for you to have as much fun putting together your production as we’ve had preparing this program.
Years ago, when I was considering the concept of “Seniors in Theater,” I thought it should serve to bring a flexible approach to presentation. This means: Help cast members become the characters and tell the story with the script in hand; sing the songs – perhaps on a stage or maybe not; maybe some of the cast are moving around or sitting down in a horseshoe format, so they can make eye contact with each other. However it looks, they can deliver the show, become the characters they portray with vocals, with hats and props, and have a good time. If the cast has fun and they’re also telling a story and delivering the essence of the show, that experience will produce a positive vibe with the cast and a comparably positive reaction with the audience. It’s clear that success is not based on critics’ reviews but rather on the level of joy, excitement, and bonding that develops over the course of preparing the show and ultimately with the audience responding to the performance.
That’s why the word “recreational theatre” was added to our theatrical vocabulary. You can’t go wrong having a good time, even mistakes or imperfections during the performance don’t really matter. It’s designed to accommodate your cast with the resources that are available to you, both human and physical. You must accommodate the show and your expectations for what your cast can give, don’t expect trained actors or singers or dancers. This is the key approach to a Broadway Senior show: scripts can be used, staging is dependent on people’s abilities, and the performance isn’t for critics but for family, friends, and – most importantly – for fun!
The process is as important as the performance. It’s an immersive, collective collaboration as well as a wonderful opportunity to have a sense of purpose every day with others, first preparing the show, then performing the show, and then wallowing in the glowing after-effects of having accomplished it and getting recognition for having done so.
That’s what Broadway Senior is all about!
-Freddie Gershon
Co-Chairman, Music Theatre International
Research and Data
Studies have proven that participating in a musical has both tangible and intangible benefits for everyone involved. Learn more:
Documentation of mental/physical improvements in memory, creativity, problem solving, everyday competence, reaction time, balance/gait, and quality of life
Authors’ supporting research documented significant improvements in performance of activities of daily living, as well as on standard measures of memory, comprehension, problem-solving ability, and personal growth through this unique intervention
Studies reveal that older adults (ages 50+) who engaged in arts activities infrequently (once or twice a year) have a 14% lower risk of death than those who did not
Studies reveal that older adults (ages 50+) who engaged frequently (every few months or more often) have a 31% lower risk
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