Miami's Arsht Center premieres new live theater initiative

The BUSY BEES' GREAT ADVENTURE

World premiere musical educates elementary school students about environmental conservation

MIAMI, Oct. 9, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of Miami-Dade County is buzzing about the new addition to the Center's Learning through the Arts program – THE BUSY BEES' GREAT ADVENTURE. Featuring a diverse Miami-based team of creatives and cast, the original new musical centers around time-traveling, hip-hop performing honeybees on a quest to save the planet. 30,000 Miami-Dade elementary school students were invited to experience this live theater initiative, for free, at the Arsht Center while learning about the importance of environmental conservation. 

THE BUSY BEES' GREAT ADVENTURE will have its world premiere run through October 13, 2023 at the Arsht Center and will continue to be performed annually. The storyline follows four honeybees on a quest to save the planet once they learn about the threats to the environment, including their own possible extinction, and what actions can be taken to prevent our planet's destruction. The show is envisioned as an engaging lesson in environmental literacy, a topic close to home for children who live in one of the most susceptible areas in the country. Large-scale projections transform the theater into the oceanside, a time machine and historic locations, such as Florida's Biscayne National Park. Students are also invited to the stage for a "Recycle Relay" competition and a "Recycle Bop" dance-a-long at the end of the musical presentation.

PHOTOS AND BROLL can be found here.

For most students, this will also be their first live theater experience at their local performing arts center. Everything, including the transporting of students to the Arsht Center, is provided free to Miami-Dade County Public Schools and students through the generosity of Arsht Center supporters.

This original new work was commissioned and produced by the Arsht Center, written by Miami-based playwright Ashlee K. Thomas with music by Nico Raimont and is directed by musical theater educator Tanisha Cidel.

THE BUSY BEES' GREAT ADVENTURE is made possible with the support of The Jorge M. Pérez Family Foundation at The Miami Foundation, Cornelia T. Bailey Foundation, Wells Fargo, Anthony R. Abraham Foundation, MONAT Gratitude Foundation and Ocean Reef Community Foundation.

More information at arshtcenter.org.

THE ARSHT CENTER'S ARTS EDUCATION PROGRAMS

The Arsht Center offers 12+ education programs and free arts opportunities to 80,000 students across South Florida each year. The Busy Bees' Great Adventure is the latest installment of the Arsht Center's Learning Through the Arts program, a partnership with Miami-Dade County Public Schools that uses live theatrical performances as the primary path for learning traditional subjects. This program, which also includes productions for middle and high school students, has reached more than 300,000 students since its inception in 2010. Other Arsht arts education programs include Accessing the Arts Residencies, art workshops for children with disabilities; Jazz Roots: Sound Check and other behind-the-scenes access for students; virtual performances year-round; numerous teacher training workshops and many others.

Media Contact:
Suzette Espinosa Fuentes
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[email protected]

SOURCE Adrienne Arsht Center