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CSPA is affiliated with the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University in the City of New York.

Covering and writing about a Broadway musical has become a Columbia Scholastic Press Association Summer Workshop tradition. Participants have attended productions as varied as All Shook Up, Fiddler on the Roof, The Drowsy Chaperone, Urinetown, and 42nd Street.

This year’s production, Legally Blonde, The Musical, proved to be especially engaging and thought provoking because most workshop participants had seen the film and were eager to compare the two. Making these comparisons gave learning about arts coverage a special type of range and focus.

Before attending the Wednesday, June 25 matinée, workshop participants had the opportunity to interview the producer, associate director and three cast members at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in Times Square.

Camp Broadway co-hosted the program with CSPA’s assistant director for administration, Antonio Rodriguez.

After a buffet lunch, the group walked over to the Palace Theatre to see the show.

Along with reporting on the interviews, workshop participants compared the film to the Broadway show as a whole. They also wrote about the show’s transitions and its dance.

—Helen F. Smith, contributing editor