[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 66 (Friday, May 13, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E899]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            HONORING THE RIVERDALE Y'S TEEN THEATER PROGRAM

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                          Friday, May 13, 2011

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, the Riverdale Y's Teen Theater program was 
established in 1990 to provide education, entertainment and enrichment 
to teens across my district in the Bronx. The program gives kids age 
13-18 a chance to study musical theater, to learn through music and to 
perform for their community. This year, they celebrate their 20th 
season of performances.
  The Teen Theater program has long produced entertainment for 
residents of the Bronx, who come to see high-level productions worthy 
of praise in any context, but especially so considering that the 
performers are our community's young people. This talented troupe of 
performers recently broke their own attendance record during 
productions of Rent and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and 
they plan more productions in the coming months.
  Children who take part in the program learn music, dance, dramatic 
and literary skills and get the chance to perform for their friends, 
family and community. They are enriched through the arts, they learn 
important skills through the arduous rehearsal process, they build 
self-esteem and they make lifelong friends. The program has received 
numerous National Youth Theater Awards in recognition of their talented 
performers, including most recently for Rent, which won awards for Best 
Ensemble Performance, Best Lead Actor in a Musical and Best Lead 
Actress in a Musical.
  On behalf of the many alumni of the program, the residents of the 
Bronx and the entire Seventeenth District, I want to recognize and 
honor the Riverdale Y's Teen Theater and their director, Laurie Walton, 
to thank them for their contributions to our community and to wish them 
the best of luck in the future.

                          ____________________