NEW YORK CITY - When NewArtsWE Day from two of his friends - the actress Marlee Matlin and interpreter Jack Jason - he saw a number of crossover points between that initiative and the mission of NewArts. So when he heard WE Day was coming for the first time to New York City, he thought it might provide an opportunity for NewArts participants to get involved. Director Michael Unger learned about

"I thought it was great," Mr Unger told The Newtown Bee. "They empower kids, we empower kids. So I called Jack and asked if he could put me in touch with the New York producers. They immediately called me back and said they would love to have NewArts be involved. They were incredibly supportive and excited that our kids could be part of the celebration."

Thanks to that crossover moment, and Mr Unger's relationships in the entertainment field, more than 60 young participants ages 5-26 who had participated in some or all of the previous NewArts productions got a chance to perform on the Radio City Music Hall stage in Manhattan - not once, but twice - on New York's first WE Day, April 6.

According to information at we.org, WE was founded more than 20 years ago by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger, humanitarians, activists, and social entrepreneurs. The WE Charity empowers change with resources that create sustainable impact through domestic programs like WE Schools and internationally through WE Villages.

A global movement 2.4 million young people strong, the site states that youth involved with WE have raised $62 million for more than 2,400 local and global organizations, volunteered 19.9 million hours for local and global causes, and collected more than 7.6 million pounds of food through service learning programs and campaigns.

Through educational resources and service campaigns WE Schools students further their curricular learning and develop the life skills for success. Young people are challenged to research and make an impact on at least one local and one global issue that sparks their passion.

By coordinating their service projects, students learn skills in leadership, communication, and project management - 21st Century life skills that are often missed by traditional models of education.

For two decades, WE Villages has also been engineering an international development model to end poverty by combining key interventions that empower a community to sustain itself. This year alone more than 200,000 young people came together in 16 stadium gatherings across the United States, Canada, and UK April 6 to celebrate the educational initiative.

The first of its kind New York WE Day event brought thousands of youths to Radio City Music Hall. Hosted by Angie Martinez, the cast of the WE Day program included Martin Luther King III, Daya, Talib Kweli, Rowan Blanchard, Winnie Harlow, Buzz Aldrin, Jordan Fisher, Paula Abdul, Mia Farrow, Darren Criss & Computer Games, Skai Jackson, Jordan Smith, J.R. Martinez, and Celebrity Marauder.

Mr Unger said the NewArts performers were part of a six-hour presentation during the day, and a shorter program of entertainment in the evening.

"The fact that there was such an alignment of missions between the two organizations gave us the opportunity to be just one of a few large performing groups for all the students during the day who earned a place in the audience through their WE service projects or program participation," Mr Unger said. "We were the only large group performing for the evening show."

He submitted a number of performance ideas and settled on a number that combined "Dare But To Dream," from the NewArts production of Liberty Smith, and "Be A Little Bit Braver" from 101 Dalmatians.

"The message of those two songs is fantastic," he said. "The Liberty Smith piece was able to feature some of the more mature performers, while 'Be a Little Bit Braver' was able to showcase a lot of the younger kids."

The musical segment was introduced by Nicole Kolitsas, who has been involved in every NewArts project since the organization was formed in the wake of 12/14. Her narrative, Mr Unger said, was taken from a blog she wrote recounting the day of the incident and her attempts to reach her mother, who was a staffer at Sandy Hook Elementary School on that day.

"When they asked for a speaker, I thought of Nicole very quickly because she had written this really moving blog post, which her intro was based on - how her NewArts experience helped make her a better person," Mr Unger said.

After crafting the transition between the two songs, Mr Unger brought in choreographer Jennifer Paulson Lee to work up some moves to complement the songs.

"So we had one rehearsal in Newtown after I had sent people a video of the songs and lyrics for people to work on, and then on Wednesday we had a couple of hours to work on it on the Radio City Music Hall stage to set the lighting and staging," Mr Unger said.

Another striking element of the NewArts segment was the eye-popping staging, which featured dozens of images spanning the short history of NewArts in Newtown.

"I said to the producers that our kids were great, but your designers really made it look like a trillion dollars," he said.

While the NewArts performers elicited thunderous ovations from the audience, they also struck a chord with some of the other stars of the show.

"The celebrities and the WE organizers were so impressed with our kids, not only the performances, but how professionally they behaved and acted when they weren't on stage," he said. "One of the stars, Bailee Madison, a big Disney star, said she wanted to meet us and spent nearly an hour. The co-founder of  WE, Craig Kielburger, dragged Nicole back on stage after the second performance. He said he had tears in his eyes watching her and told the audience to stand up again for NewArts and for all the great work we were doing. It was a very powerful moment and we didn't quite expect that."

Back To Work: Summer 2017 Musicals

And while NewArts' moment on the Radio City stage was thrilling, Mr Unger arrived home the next day and dug right back into preparing for this summer's two local musicals, Roald Dahl's Willy Wonka, for student actors of elementary and middle school age, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, for actors of elementary school to college age range.

Performances will again be offered at Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, where previous shows have been staged as the Newtown High School auditorium renovations proceed.

Rehearsals for Willy Wonka are scheduled to begin June 19, with performances scheduled for Friday, July 28, at 7 pm; Saturday, July 29, at 2 and 7 pm; and Sunday, July 30, at 3 pm.

Rehearsals for Joseph will start Monday, June 26, and performances are planned for Friday, August 11, at 7 pm; Saturday, August 12, at 2 and 7 pm; and Tuesday, August 13, at 3 pm.

Mr Unger said while he prepares for callbacks, there is still room for more local talent or for any young people who may want to try and experience working in a professional theatrical environment.

The final date for auditions is April 19. For more information, visit newarts.org.

Check out the video of the NewArts performance at New York's WE Day:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9E4CpT5oUHw&feature=youtu.be