Rosies Broadway Kids New York Corp

Rosie's Theater Kids has helped my child realize their dreams of success in the arts and in life. My child is now heading off to college with a substantial scholarship. This would never have happened without the top quality arts training and academic tutoring that RTKids provides. It starts with the High School placement tutoring and continued through the years with SAT prep classes and college admissions help. Thank you RTKids for 7 seven years of excellence!

I had a mortifying experience at Rosie's Kids today. We run a non-profit children and youth theater and after-school program for low income families in several public schools in NYC, much like Rosie's Kids. Infact, we happen to serve a public school (PS64) that is also a Rosie's Kids School, and several of our students and their parents asked us to come and see their children perform their 30minute showcase at the Rosie's Kids theater in Hell's Kitchen. In the spirit of "the village raising the child" three of us from the school decided to show up and surprise our students. I presented my business card at the entrance and I was asked to wait in the corner, my business card was seized and then suddenly a rather curt and disturbed Executive-Artistic Director of Rosie's Kids (Lori Klinger) showed up and questioned our presence --as though we were shoplifters! She actually asked us "what were we looking for" and I figured we had to give her a "reason" to support the kids- so I mentioned our after school theater program and how we would also have the opportunity to recommend kids to talent agents. Ms Klinger was so visibly disturbed, she interrupted and said, "we already have programs for our kids and don't have any additional seats for you!" Seconds later, she charged to one of the mother's of the students from our school, who has never met us, but whose child knows us (from his school), and interrogates her, "do you know these people?? Did you invite these people? Do you recognize these people???". The rattled mother gave us an embarrassed smile and then Ms Klinger charged back to us and said, "who is it you're here to see?" Quite perplexed and hoping to take the edge off her bizarrely defensive posture, and especially not wanting to get our sweet kids in trouble (minutes before their show) with this ferociously rude woman, I explained that we share a school with Rosie's Kids and share some students, and we're just here to support their 30minute showcase." I added, "we have no intention to poach her customers and have our own school programs and students". She told us that we could not be admitted and walked away saying, "I've got a show to direct!". In all 12 years of running our theater program both within schools and our own theater in Greenwich Village, Long Island and Queens and Peekskill, and knowing we serve 100% low income families,  we have NEVER once thought to turn away ANY person who wished to see our children's performances, let alone to openly disrespect our professional colleagues in such a direly needed "niche" non-profit educational theater industry. Furthermore, all of Rosie's Kids, like our students, come from low income families and under served-communities and we all know full well, that the "village" showing up to support them - can mean the world to them. Ms. Klinger could have simply said, "Gosh, we are sooo overwhelmed today. Its a "parent only day" and I'm so sorry you've come all the way here. It would be wonderful to give you a tour someday. Can I please make it up to you somehow?" What makes it even more pitiful, is that one of our own Benefit Committee members, was a major donor at the 2010 Gala Rosie's Kids benefit at the Marriott Marquis (our friend came with the lady who raised her hand when Rosie said "who can afford $10,000"?) And then there is the fact that my own husband, is the electrician for their Maravel Center for Rosie's Kids, and Ed, the Operations Director, has personally asked my husband to make sure that I personally come by and see a workshop! I actually gave his business card too- and tried to explain the same to the coarse and callous Ms. Klinger. But to no avail. We were deeply humiliated and sent away. I'm appalled that Ms. Klinger has lost complete touch with WHY and WHO she is serving. And has let her conceit and ego so overtake her- that she would treat colleagues in her own industry as though we were on some bad reality show about "competitive Stage Moms". I'm embarrassed for Rosie, for Rosie's kids and for all the beloved teaching artists- who have to endure the coarse, callous, cruel and curt Ms Klinger.