The Broadway Babies is a self-titled album by The Broadway Babies, consisting of the duo Nicole Mangi and Leah Sprecher, who aim to spark creativity and inspire and educate children. It goes beyond the sing-song, one-dimensional structure of the more common children’s songs. 

Nicole and Leah are best friends who met while working in the theatre. Nicole is a children’s arts advocate and has performed worldwide. Leah is a founding member of the Transcendence Theatre Company and has performed in different national theatre tours. 

The question they answer in their album The Broadway Babies is, “What does it take to help children to be well-educated and well-developed?”. The first thing to come to anyone’s mind would be a full belly and somewhere warm and clean to sleep. Granted that no child can survive without these bare essentials, it is crucial to recognize that a child needs more than these things to grow into a well-rounded human.

Although there are many theories and perspectives on nurturing children, one of the more common ones is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, a concept that is in line with Nicole and Leah’s project, The Broadway Babies.

Maslow was a psychologist who suggested that five kinds of needs must be actualized for someone to reach self-fulfillment. The five needs are physiological, safety, social, esteem, and self-actualization. 

Safety in children can be categorized as the need to feel stable and protected by being able to identify and deal with fear and emotions that may arise. In the album, I’m OK! is a song that takes the kids through different emotions and helps them not to push them down. “Ok, ok, here come the angries… I’m feeling anxious…so I take a deep breath, and I count to three.” 

Social needs are the needs everyone, including children, has to feel loved, accepted, and like they belong. Safety in Numbers delves right into it by helping children understand that everyone feels lonely and everyone has that crazy dream that feels like it might never come true. 

The next element in Maslow’s hierarchy is self-esteem. As children grow up, they begin to take note of differences between themselves and other kids, differences that may make them feel “less than.” The song Little Star reassures kids that they are brilliant and that they all have something unique to offer the world. Magic Microphone is also in the same line of thought. It tells kids that whatever their insecurity if they pick up this magic microphone, they can overcome it. 

The final level of Maslow’s guide to development is self-actualization. Self-actualization is about reaching your highest potential. For children, this can be linked to becoming the best at their hobbies and interests. Practice, Practice, Practice encourages kids to work hard and not give up even when faced with failure. It mentions different accomplished people and the work they had to put in to succeed. 

Although Leah and Nicole’s The Broadway Babies album maintains a depth in meaning, it has a lightness that will help kids to dance and sing along to it. The Broadway Babies is available on all streaming platforms. Parents can also follow the duo on their website, where they can access other services, including private classes and musical parties and shows. 

Listen on Spotify:

Available via all streaming platforms:

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/thebroadwaybabies/the-broadway-babies

Website:

https://www.broadwaybabiesshow.com/

Follow on Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/broadwaybabiesshow/

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