In its 50th year as a New Jersey theater company, Pushcart Players aims to expand its mission of bringing the arts to under-resourced schools in the state.
Thanks to a New Jersey State Bar Foundation grant, the company will stage the play “Lift Every Voice: A Letter to the Editor” for students as an educational experience honoring the courage and resilience of Americans during the Civil Rights Movement.
“The Foundation is making it possible for Pushcart Players to share what we love to do – use the power of theater to instruct, illuminate and entertain,” said Paul Whelihan, the company’s producing artistic director. “And schools in our home state will be able to access this learning opportunity because of NJSBF's enlightened support.”
Pushcart Players debuted the play in 2022 as a multimedia experience exploring the spirit, images and music of mid-century America in the 1960s. The play has since traveled nationwide and premiered at popular New Jersey venues – including the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn and The Levoy Theatre in Millville – and schools in Jersey City, Newark and Prospect Park.
Through the grant, Pushcart Players hope to reach an additional 7,000 students with the play and its message at schools in Irvington, Paterson and South Plainfield in 2025, according to Sam Tucker, the company’s technical director.
“There are many schools in New Jersey that can’t afford to bring in assembly programs, specifically arts-oriented programs. This grant allows us to bring free or subsidized performances to certain schools that otherwise would not be able to engage in arts programming,” Tucker said.
The play is ideally suited for middle school students but carries an important meaning for viewers of any age, Tucker said. Based on real events, “Lift Every Voice: A Letter to the Editor” tells the story of 12-year-old boy in the 1960s South, who learns of James Meredith's attempt to enroll as the first Black student at the University of Mississippi. In a letter to the local paper, the boy confronts negative opinions on integration and becomes an important voice for the community to accept equality and inclusion.
“It’s important for students in underserved schools to see parts of themselves on stage and relate,” Tucker said. “The play shows that young people have the power to effect societal change.”
In the last year, the Foundation provided grants for law-related educational programs in 38 nonprofit organizations that serve disenfranchised populations in New Jersey. In total, the programs aim to reach 80,000 people across the state through educational videos, digital resources, brochures, webinars, seminars, direct outreach, pro bono legal support and more.