History
After visiting several school productions in 1998, Reinaldo ‘Rey-Rey’ Martinez-Cubero was made aware of the serious void in arts education in Upper Manhattan caused by budget cuts. Drawing upon his ten years of experience performing and teaching, he designed a children’s theatre curriculum that would incorporate the performing and visual arts and stimulate learning. The vicar, wardens, and vestry of Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Inwood, welcomed the program and The Pied Piper Children’s Theatre of NYC (PPCT) presented its first production, SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS, in October, 1999. Since then, over four hundred children have gone through the program. This has created a strong community of families from different income levels and ethnic backgrounds.
PPCT is currently in its sixth successful season. The productions have become a very important bi-monthly social and family event in the community. Since productions are usually double cast, as many as 40 families work to produce each theatrical event. The theatre also reaches out to the community by providing free performances of productions ranging from A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM to YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN, at senior citizen and day care centers.