Broadway Dreams

If you could find the most talented students in the metro area, what kind of
program could you create? What if you had the possible students audition so
that you knew that you actually had the very best talent in the areas of
singing, dancing, and acting? Could you turn these students into Broadway
performers? If you brought in some people who have actually performed on
Broadway to coach these talented students, could you tell who the real
performers were and who were the students?

That is the challenge with Broadway Dreams. The theme this year was "Express
Yourself." Earlier this past spring, students from the metro-area auditioned
to spend a week in a coaching approach to improving their performing skills.
The final result was presented to the parents and the community last Saturday
night at the Holland Center.

Under the direction of Broadway's Matt Lenz, these students performed their
"Showstoppers" that were practiced the previous week through a partnership with
Omaha Performing Arts and Broadway Dreams. The "Showstoppers" were from many
musicals such as "Let Me Be Your Star", "Footloose", "Matilda", "Once", "Across
the Universe", "The Book of Mormon", "Tarzan", "Hairspray", "Fosse", "Sunday in
the Park with George", and "My Life".

Being that the Broadway performers are young, it really is difficult to figure
out which ones are the professionals and which are extremely talented area
students. For one particular performer who was recorded, she is currently
traveling this week to New York for an audition in a Broadway musical.

For eleven year old, Lauren Philips, this is her third year performing in
Broadway Dreams. This local talent is beginning sixth-grade at Lewis Central
Middle School in the fall. After a week of this intensive workshop, this
delightful performer spoke about her experiences with expressing herself. "I
express myself the way no one else can by being different and unique. Being
myself shines through."