Macy’s Creates ‘Yes, Virginia the Musical’ for Schools

The following is an excerpt from an article in 

The New York Times
Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Macy’s Creates ‘Yes, Virginia the Musical’ for Schools

By STUART ELLIOTT

FOR decades, Macy’s has been on Broadway, literally. Soon, the department store will be there figuratively, too, as it develops a musical for schools around the country.

The show, “Yes, Virginia the Musical,” is based on an animated, nonmusical television special, “Yes, Virginia,” that Macy’s has sponsored on CBS since 2009 as part of its Christmas advertising campaign that carries the theme “Believe.” The special is scheduled to return to CBS this fall, and will also appear on Univision, a Spanish-language network.

“Yes, Virginia the Musical” is aimed at students in grades three through six, reflecting the ages of the child characters in both the stage and television versions. Macy’s will share “Yes, Virginia the Musical” with schools through a Web site, yesvirginiamusical.com, that offers content like downloadable scripts and scores; production reference materials; video clips of tips and encouraging words from performers like Florence Henderson; and a video of a recent test performance of the musical by children who attend the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in Loch Sheldrake, N.Y.

Macy’s, part of Macy’s Inc., is providing the online content free and will not charge accredited schools royalties to perform the musical. Macy’s also plans to give 100 schools grants of $1,000 apiece to help them defray the costs of putting on the musical. (Schools can apply on the Web site for the grants, which will be given to the first 100 accredited schools that apply.)

The idea underscores the growing role that entertainment is playing in marketing, particularly for retailers that are seeking to bring pizazz to the shopping experience when more consumers are making purchases online rather than in person.

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