Alex Irwin, a freshman at Wayland High School and Lexi Greeley, a 7th grader at Wayland Middle School recognized at JTF Atlanta.
Wellesley Theatre Project student Alex Irwin won a Freddie G award for Outstanding Performance by an Individual and Wellesley Theatre Project students won other recognition and praise at the 2022 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta (JTF Atlanta). The monumental weekend dedicated to rewarding and celebrating student-driven musical theater programs happened online and in-person January 14-16, 2022, in Atlanta.
Wellesley Theatre Project was also hand-picked to perform “Matchmaker,” from Fiddler of the Roof JR. and “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” from Guys and Dolls JR. for all festival attendees during the festival’s New Works Showcase.
Wellesley Theatre Project students Arabella Hardgrave, Lydia Harrison, and Andrew Ho made it to the callback for future video shoots for “how-to” choreography videos. Additionally, students Lexi Greeley and Alex Ho were distinguished as All-Stars, an outstanding group of young performers at the festival.
Adjudication and Adjudicator Feedback
At the festival, each group performed 15 minutes of a Broadway Junior® musical for adjudicators.
Wellesley Theatre Project presented Disney and Cameron Mackintosh’s Mary Poppins JR. to producer and librettist Daniel Stoddart (Dot and the Kangaroo: An Aussie Musical Adventure) and Theatre Macon Artistic Director Richard Frazier. Stoddart said, “Wellesley Theatre Project’s presentation featured all of the classic hits from the show and had the audience wanting to get up and dance along with them. The choreography and vocals from this young cast were superb. Wellesley Theatre Project’s creative team should be commended on nurturing not only wonderful talent, but outstanding young people.” Frazier added, “Their ensemble work was incredible. It was dazzling to watch them work together as a unit in so many of their large group numbers! Their willingness to brave all of the things happening in the world to share their talents with us shows a true commitment to the arts!”
About The 2022 JTF Atlanta
Called a “rousing celebration of theatre” by the New York Times, the Junior Theater Festival applauds and empowers young people and educators creating student-driven musical theater around the globe.
The 2022 JTF Atlanta was an incredible and safe weekend of singing, dancing, acting, and learning. The festival worked with experts to modify the event to meet and exceed local, state, and federal safety guidelines. Festival policies included implementing mandatory masking and authenticating vaccinations or negative COVID test results for all attendees.
Tony Award winning actor Ali Stroker performed the headlining concert. Actors
Tommy Bracco (Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical) and
Kara Lindsay (Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical) took part in a special Newsies panel via video.
Additional talent appearing at the festival and cheering the young artists were actor
Krystina Alabado (Mean Girls, Broadway), actor
McKenna Michael Bisaha (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Musical tour), actor
Katy Geraghty (Groundhog Day!, Broadway), actor
Jake David Smith (Disney’s Frozen on Broadway), actor
Daniel J. Mertzlufft (Ratatouille: The TikTok Musical), actor
Luca Padovan (Disney’s Newsies: The Broadway Musical), author and playwright
Jodi Picoult (Wish You Were Here, Breathe), screenwriter, songwriter and novelist
Dean Pitchford (Footloose, Broadway), music orchestrator
Macy Schmidt (founder of The Broadway Sinfonietta),
Michael Wordly (The Color Purple, US Tour), and actor
Daniel Yearwood (Hamilton).
Groups enjoyed a New Works Showcase of performance selections from upcoming Broadway Junior® musicals presented by JTF groups, and other mainstage performances featuring powerhouse Broadway guests and took part in workshops.
About Wellesley Theatre Project
Wellesley Theatre Project (WTP) empowers youth with life skills learned through an exceptional performing arts education. The program challenges its artists to become citizen artists — to improve the quality of life in their local and global community by emphasizing collaboration and cultural and social understanding. Wellesley Theatre Project (WTP) is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary as an organization.
In 2021, young performers from WTP took part virtually in the JTF Online Edition (JTF OE) and were awarded a Freddie G Outstanding Production award. Furthermore Liam Turner received a Freddie G All-Festival Individual Performance award. Also that year, Emilie Andrews, Ceci Giebutowski, Alexander Irwin, and Jacob Robbins were cast to join students across the nation to perform in a virtual sneak peek production of Disney’s The Descendants, while Tessa Baron, Katie Gray, Lexi Greeley, and Zachary Green were cast in a virtual look at Jason Robert Brown’s 13 JR.
The group first traveled to the Junior Theater Festival in 2020, and those attending were students from WTP’s audition-only leadership and community outreach group, IMPACT. That year WTP student Andrew Ho made it to the callback for future shoots for “how-to” choreography videos for soon-to-be released musicals.
WTP celebrated its 10th Anniversary Summer in 2021. This past summer, past students officially formed a WTP Alumni Association.
About iTheatrics and the Junior Theater Festivals
iTheatrics and the Junior Theater Group produce the Junior Theater Festivals. Based in New York City, for the last decade iTheatrics has established itself as the world’s leading authority on musical theater for young people. iTheatrics works with leading public and private companies around the world—including the Kennedy Center, NBC, and all the leading theatrical licensors—to make sure that young people everywhere have access to quality musical theatre programs.
In addition to the Junior Theater Festival Atlanta, iTheatrics produces, hosts, and supports Junior Theater Festivals and one-day Junior Theater Celebrations in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and New Zealand.
Past festival attendees have included Ahrens & Flaherty, Skylar Astin, Joshua Basset, Shoshana Bean, Sierra Boggess, Nicholas Christopher, Darren Criss, Zac Efron, Cynthia Erivo, Megan Hilty, Arielle Jacobs, Kenny Leon, Caissie Levy, Kara Lindsay, Ryan McCartan, Lindsay Mendez, Alan Menken, Pasek and Paul, Ben Platt, Olivia Rodrigo, Samsel & Anderson; Steven Schwartz, and Jeanine Tesori.
