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Tony and Emmy winner Nathan Lane<\/a>\u00a0and his\u00a0Death of a Salesman<\/a><\/em> co-stars Christopher Abbott<\/a> and Ben Ahlers<\/a> will host the 2026 Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival for NYC Public Schools May 4 at 7:30 PM\u00a0at Broadway’s\u00a0Schoenfeld Theatre.\u00a0<\/p>\n This annual theatre education experience, presented by The Shubert Foundation and the NYC Public Schools Arts Office, will agive 200 young NYC public school theatre artists the chance to make their Broadway debuts.<\/p>\n Additional guest presenters for the 12th annual event will include\u00a0Isa Antonetti<\/a> (Buena Vista Social Club<\/a><\/em>), Treshelle Edmond<\/a> (Spring Awakening<\/em>), Thayne Jasperson<\/a> (Hamilton<\/em>), Francis Jue<\/a> (Yellow Face<\/em>), Aim\u00e9 Donna Kelly, (Law & Order: SVU<\/em>), Tom Kitt<\/a> (Next to Normal<\/a><\/em>), Da\u2019Von Moody (Buena Vista Social Club<\/em>), N\u2019Kenge (Motown: the Musical<\/em>), Liz Pearce<\/a> (Masquerade<\/em>),\u00a0Caesar Samayoa<\/a> (Just in Time<\/a><\/em>), and Abel Santiago (Julliard & Shubert Festival alum).\u00a0<\/p>\n The Festival celebrates five outstanding high school student productions from the 2025-26\u00a0school year, selected from more than 30 plays and musicals across the city by professional theatre artists and theatre educators.\u00a0This year, student presentations from the following schools will perform scenes and musical numbers: Chicago\u00a0<\/em>( For the first time, the Festival will also spotlight the\u00a0students who placed first and second in the NYC Shakespeare Competition:\u00a0Madison Martinez (Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing & Visual Arts, Manhattan) and Kriston Hall (Urban Assembly School for the Performing Arts, Manhattan).\u00a0The two\u00a0will perform their winning monologues, followed by a scene from Romeo & Juliet<\/em>.\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u2002\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe arts play an essential role in every student\u2019s learning and well-being. Events such as The Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival provide a unique professional Broadway setting for our students to shine, supporting their creativity and confidence,” said Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels in a statement. “My Arts Office colleagues and I deeply appreciate the Shubert Foundation for their continued partnership, support, and commitment to how theatre\u00a0education enriches the lives of our students and their communities.\u201d <\/p>\n \u201cThis is now the 12th year that The Shubert Foundation High School Theatre Festival will be showcasing the stellar theatre programs of NYC\u2019s public schools on a Broadway stage and we continue to be amazed by the talent and effort of the students and their teachers,\u201d added The Shubert Foundation President\u00a0Diana Phillips. \u201cThey have already impressed their school communities and now, on the evening of May 4th, their stage becomes even bigger, their audience even wider. We couldn\u2019t be more proud to see them take their Broadway bows.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Sponsored by The Shubert Foundation, The Festival is presented in partnership with the New York City Public Schools\u2019 Arts Office. A 2025-26 Shubert Foundation grant of $734,000 funds the Festival and supports a range of existing theatre and arts education programs in New York City public schools. Since 2005, The Shubert Foundation has provided more than $10 million to the New York City Department of Education for Theatre and arts education programs.<\/p>\n The Shubert Foundation, Inc. is the largest institutional funder of theatre education programs throughout NYC public schools and the nation’s largest private foundation dedicated to unrestricted funding of not-for-profit theatres, with a secondary focus on dance.<\/p>\n