The magic of live music theatre was on full display for an audience of enraptured kids in a recent presentation of “The Band’s Visit” produced by Inside Broadway for its Creating the Magic program. This fun series brings New York City’s under-served public school students to a Broadway theatre to learn about the important behind-the-scenes elements of a Broadway musical.

During a 75-minute presentation, which features Local 802 musicians performing under a union contract, the actors and musicians perform musical selections from the show and the technical/special effects are demonstrated by each department’s head and the show’s production stage manager. Creating the Magic gives the hard workers who usually go unseen each night a chance to shine in the spotlight!

Creating the Magic is a free program for New York City’s public school students. For many of these students, this is their first time in a Broadway theater. It seeks to inspire children to use their creativity and realize that careers in the arts are viable, important, and fun. “We firmly believe that the program fosters and develops new audiences for the future,” said Michael Presser, executive director of Inside Broadway.

The Local 802 musicians for this presentation included Dan Lipton (musical director), Allan Hewitt (bass), Phil Mayer (drums) and the onstage band pictured on this page: Ossama Farouk (percussion), Carlo Pellettieri (cello), Adam Good (oud/guitar), Samir Shukry (violin) and Sam Sadigursky (reeds).

For more information, see www.insidebroadway.org/our-programs/creating-the-magic.html.

Ossama Farouk (percussion), Carlo Pellettieri (cello), Adam Good (oud/guitar), Samir Shukry (violin) and Sam Sadigursky (reeds) performed excerpts from “The Band’s Visit” for NYC schoolchildren through Inside Broadway’s Creating the Magic series. Also performing – but not pictured – were Dan Lipton (musical director), Allan Hewitt (bass) and Phil Mayer (drums). Photos by Elena Olivo.