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New York, NY – November 20, 2025 – To build the audience of tomorrow, TDF is offering free one-year TDF Memberships to all graduating seniors from NYC public and charter high schools for the third year in a row. A TDF Membership provides access to the performing arts in New York City—Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off Broadway, music, and dance performances—at deeply discounted ticket prices.

In addition to the free TDF Membership, every student who signs up can enter a drawing to win up to two free tickets to see the upcoming award-winning production of CATS: The Jellicle Ball on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on Tuesday, May 5, 2026 at 6:30 p.m. (special early curtain). The full house will be offered to graduating seniors and their guests. Earlier that day, there will be a graduation celebration by the red steps of TDF’s Times Square TKTS Booth featuring music, an opportunity to take graduation photos, and other fun activities.

New York City Public Schools Arts Office joins TDF in this partnership to forge a lifelong relationship with the arts for the next generation.

NYC public and charter school principals will send all seniors information about TDF’s Graduation Gift with details on how to sign up. To prove eligibility, students will be asked to provide their NYC DOE Student ID number (OSIS number). To learn more about this program or to sign up, visit tdf.org/gradgift.

Celebrating its third consecutive year, TDF’s Graduation Gift has provided free TDF Memberships to more than 7,500 graduates.

For CATS: The Jellicle Ball production photos, click here.

Ginger Bartkoski Meagher, TDF’s VP of Programs said, “TDF is dedicated to welcoming new audiences to the theatre, and we’re excited that our Graduation Gift, now in its third year, has been the gateway to affordable tickets for thousands of young New Yorkers. Theatregoing doesn't just offer entertainment; there are mental and emotional health benefits to participating in the community experience of seeing shows together. That's why we believe everyone should have access to the performing arts. For our Grad Gift show, we are partnering with CATS: The Jellicle Ball, a classic Broadway musical presented with a fabulous new take, perfect for our high school seniors, who can attend at no cost to them. Sign up and find some JOY right 'meow.' It would be a real drag to be left out.”

TDF would like to thank CATS: The Jellicle Ball producers Michael Harrison and Mike Bosner for making the May 5 graduation celebration at the Broadhurst Theatre possible.

ABOUT CATS: The Jellicle Ball:

COME ONE, COME ALL – The Jellicle Cats are having a BALL. Based on T.S. Eliot’s Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s worldwide phenomenon CATS is reimagined in a production that smashed records, won awards, and left New York City purring. And now CATS: The Jellicle Ball ascends to Broadway in a kaleidoscope of glittering spectacle, iconic music, and electrifying ballroom choreography that The New York Times calls “a lightning strike that sets joy free!”

Broadway meets Runway in the fiercest event of the season, directed by Obie Award winners Zhailon Levingston and Bill Rauch, with choreography by Obie and Chita Rivera Award winners and New York City Ballroom icons Omari Wiles (House of NiNa Oricci) and Arturo Lyons (House of Miyake-Mugler). Don’t miss this “sexy celebration of love and resilience” (New York Daily News) and “the most exhilarating fun that can be had in the theater” (The Washington Post).

ABOUT TDF Founded in 1968, TDF (Theatre Development Fund) is a not-for-profit service organization dedicated to sharing the power of the performing arts with everyone. TDF’s mission is to engage a broad and diverse audience by removing the financial, physical, and invisible barriers to participation in the performing arts. TDF’s initiatives include the TKTS by TDF Discount Booths; TDF Memberships; the TDF Costume Collection; and TDF Accessibility, Education, and Community Programs. Those Programs include open captioned, audio described, and ASL-interpreted performances; Autism Friendly Performances; the Veterans Theatregoing Program; school programs serving more than 11,000 NYC public school students annually; and partnerships with over 150 NYC community organizations serving 18,000 people in the tristate area. TDF welcomes NYC’s vibrant communities to the theatre because experiencing the performing arts improves mental health and social connections. Learn more about TDF at tdf.org.

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