Applications for the 2026-27 program year are open!

Submission deadline: Friday, August 21, 2026.

Add a little magic to your classroom through Disney Musicals in Schools!

Disney Musicals in Schools, presented by Dee and Jimmy Haslam, is a FREE initiative for grades 3–5, that ignites a passion for storytelling by building sustainable musical theater programs for eligible Cuyahoga, Lake, and Lorain County elementary schools. 

By providing free performance materials and free professional development to participating schools, Disney Musicals in Schools helps schools launch new theater programs, inspiring the next generation of storytellers, artists, and audiences.

Four schools will be selected to participate in the 2026-27 program, FREE of charge. Any Cuyahoga, Lake, or Lorain County public elementary school, including public charter schools, with a student poverty level of 50% or higher (according to the Ohio Department of Education’s 2013 Typology Report) is eligible to apply. Additionally, if your school was an active member of the Disney Musicals in Schools program prior to the 2019-20 school year, and you have not restarted your program since that time, you are eligible to apply as a new year-one school. If you have questions about your school’s eligibility, contact Outreach Programs Supervisor, Katelyn Merold at Katelyn.Merold@playhousesquare.org.

Disney Musicals in Schools presents a special opportunity to introduce the collaborative art of musical theater to your school, strengthen your arts programming, and develop partnerships among students, faculty, staff and the greater community.

The goals of Disney Musicals in Schools:

1. Create sustainable musical theater programs in public elementary schools.
2. Provide school faculty with the training and tools necessary to support student performance and production, and to empower them to do so.
3. Develop a critical awareness and appreciation of the arts within the school.
4. Develop a strong community, including students, parents, faculty, staff, and neighbors.
5. Expose students and school faculty to the wide spectrum of skills that are developed when producing a piece of musical theater, including critical thinking, problem solving, ensemble building, communication, self-confidence, and interpersonal skills.

What is Disney Musicals in Schools?

The program began at Disney Theatrical Group in New York City in 2009 and was established to create sustainable theater programs in under-resourced public elementary schools. Over 500 schools across the US and the UK have participated in this program since its inception, 31 of those schools in the Greater Cleveland Area through Playhouse Square. Playhouse Square has been a proud producer of Disney Musicals in Schools since 2015.

By providing free performance materials and free professional development to participating teachers, Disney Musicals in Schools has helped schools inspire the next generation of diverse storytellers, artists and audiences.

Selected schools will receive:

• Free performance rights (valid for one year) to a 30-minute Disney KIDS musical of your choice! Available titles include:
  • 101 Dalmatians
  • Aladdin
  • The Aristocats
  • Finding Nemo
  • Frozen
  • The Jungle Book
  • The Lion King
  • Winnie the Pooh
• Free “ShowKit” materials, including a director’s handbook guide, student scripts, online links to all choreography and music videos and tracks, and cross-curricular activities.
• Free in-school support from a team of two Playhouse Square Disney-Trained Teaching Artists
  • Two, 90-minute afterschool rehearsals are required every week for 19 weeks. Playhouse Square Teaching Artists attend one of these two rehearsals per week, while your team of teachers run the second rehearsal each week.
  • The Teaching Artists will serve as prduction and creative advisors who during this time will train and empower your School Team to run the program independently by the end of the 19-weeks.
  • The Playhuse Square Teaching Artists will guide your School Team through both production management (developing a rehearsal schedule, running auditions, and addressing technical and physical production requirements) and the creative execution of the show (direction, choreography, acting, and design). They will also advise your School Team on school and community engagement opportunities to support your production.
  • Disney KIDS Musicals are designed t be produced on any budget. Playhuse Square Teaching Artists will work with your School Team to create a production within the budget your school is able to allocate to this project.
• Finally, our four selected Disney schools will present one musical number from their respective productions in a culminating “Student Share Celebration” at Playhouse Square. The 2025-2026 Student Share will take place on March 9, 2026, and we encourage new applicants to join us! Please contact Katelyn Merold (Katelyn.Merold@playhousesquare.org) for details on how to RSVP!

Schools will be expected to:

• Identify a School Team comprising at least four teachers and staff members who will partner with the Playhouse Square Teaching Artists and oversee and manage the program from beginning to end. The selected School Team will receive on-site support from a team of two Playhouse Square Teaching Artists who will visit the school for a 90-minute rehearsal once each week for 19 weeks. The School Team will run a second 90-minute rehearsal once each week (those same 19 weeks) without the presence of the Teaching Artists.
• Have the full School Team and Principal available for a Show Selection and Paperwork Meeting with a Playhouse Square Administrator the week of September 21, 2026. Exact meeting date and time TBD, when all four Year 1 schools have been selected. Playhouse Square will come to you!
• Produce a 30-minute Disney “KIDS” musical of your choice from the titles listed on page 2, involving 3rd-5th graders who will participate both onstage as performers and offstage, providing backstage support.
• Commit to a full semester of rehearsal/production in an after-school setting (see timeline on the following page).
• Provide space, time, materials, and resources for students and the School Team to rehearse and prepare for the musical production.
• Respond to all Playhouse Square correspondence in a timely manner.
• Provide opportunities for the whole school, parents, and larger community to be supportive of the production.
• Hold a minimum of one public performance of your musical.
• Participate in the culminating “Student Share” event at Playhouse Square on Monday, March 8, 2027. Playhouse Square will provide transportation reimbursement for participating schools.

Timeline of REQUIRED Events:

Application Links: