BIO

Vital Children’s Theatre creates stories that challenge our audience to ask questions, make discoveries and engage in dialogue.

If one adult is inspired,
If one child’s imagination is awakened,
If one student is empowered;
Our theatre is important and vital.

Vital Theatre Company is located in New York’s Upper West Side at 76th and Broadway and commissions four new musicals per year for children.

Vital Children’s Theatre Company has been honored with an American Theatre Wing Award for Continued Commitment to Excellence in Theatre, two Awards for Excellence by the Off-Off Broadway Review and was named Theatre Company of the Year in 2002 and 2004 by nytheatre.com.

Vital has received high acclaim from audiences and critics alike for being “a wonderful place for parents to introduce their kids to the glories of live theatre.” Now in its ninth season, the company is dedicated to producing entertaining and educational theatre for young audiences. To date, the company has presented 37 original productions for over 47,000 children and their families. Find them on the web at www.vitaltheatre.org.

“Every now and then a pearl can be spotted on the shores of Off-Off Broadway”—The New York Post

A Brief History of Vital Theatre

Vital was founded in March of 1999 with the goal of creating a safe home to nurture emerging theatre artists — and that vision has blossomed. Now in its seventh season, Vital Theatre Company moved into its spacious new Upper West Side home at the McGinn Cazale Theatre in November of 2004. Previously, Vital performed at our two intimate spaces on Theatre Row in midtown Manhattan. As of March 2005, Vital has mounted 22 full-length MAIN STAGE productions, five short-play series, nine installments of VITAL SIGNS New Works Festival, two VITAL DIRECTIONS projects, plus cabaret and sketch comedy. To date, 14 plays which premiered in VITAL SIGNS have gone on to publication. Vital was commissioned by The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation to create and produce "AMERICA IS MY HOME: THE IMMIGRANT JOURNEY TO AMERICA" which ran on Ellis Island for seven months. Our VITAL CHILDREN'S THEATRE has presented 29 productions, many of them new musicals. More than 4,000 NYC students have been touched by VITAL VOICES, our arts and education program. Vital Theatre Company was recently named as one of nytheatre.com's "2004 People of the Year" (yes, we're a company, but what the hey, they stretched their definition...). Vital is a six-time winner of the Off-Off Broadway Review's Award for Excellence for four of our Main Stage productions, as well as Vital's 2001 - 2002 Children's Theatre Season and the children's piece THE BALLAD OF IRVING THE FROG… ('04). The New York Theatre Experience also named Vital Theatre Company the 2002 Theatre Company of the Year. Our audiences are growing. In our brief history, more than 34,000 people have attended a Vital production, in addition to the 28,000 who saw the AMERICA IS MY HOME on Ellis Island. Well over 1000 artists have participated in one of our shows, creating a vibrant and ever-increasing community at Vital. With the new McGinn Cazale Theatre, we look forward to continuing the tradition of supporting artists and enlightening and entertaining audiences for years to come.

Vital Theatre Company's Founding Members

Stephen Sunderlin, Michael Schloegl, Scott C. Embler, Laura M. Stevens