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Cover Story

Cover Story - Spanish Version

Mini-Lesson

Comprehension Quiz

Teacher's Guide and Worksheets

Acting On Child Labor

Broadway is a magical place. With its many theaters, the bright, busy street in New York City is home to such spectacular plays and musicals as The King and I and Cats. Actors dream of one day making it to Broadway.

For one thrilling night last week, fifth-graders from Hawes School in Ridgewood, New Jersey, were part of Broadway's magic. Their play, Justice Do It, shined a spotlight on companies that treat their workers unfairly.

Justice Do It was sparked by news reports last year (including one in TFK) on awful working conditions in overseas factories where many kids work. Teacher Maria Sweeney's fourth-grade class wrote the play to teach others about the issue. "It was hard to write the truth," says Han Park, 10.

Last spring, after many rehearsals, the class was ready to perform the play at a school assembly. But at the last minute, school officials canceled the show. They were worried that the play, which focuses on Disney and Nike factories in Haiti and Vietnam, would be too tough for some kids to understand. The class was heartbroken.

But the bad news led to a lucky break. Scott Ellis, a director of Broadway's Roundabout Theater, read about the decision in the newspaper. "I was moved," he said. He offered the kids his stage for one night.

"We're really psyched," said Josie Russo, who played Disney's president in the October 27 production of the play. "But it's more important that we get this message out."

David Mishler, 10, played a Nike worker. "Look at us; we're on Broadway!" he said, as the crowd cheered and clapped in a standing ovation. "I never dreamed anything like this would happen in a million years."

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