The Ben Vereen Awards has commissioned Bradley J. Behrmann as composer for the 2017 Wellness Through the Arts (WTA) program.  This is the third year of the program and the second commission for Behrmann.  In conjunction with the esteemed musical theatre competition, the WTA (a pet project of Mr. Vereen himself) solicits essays from San Diego area high school students who have faced issues with bullying and obesity.  Five winning essays became the raw material for a new piece of musical theatre.  Members of the J*Company Youth Theatre rehearsed the piece and performed it at the Ben Vereen Awards on May 28, 2017 at the Balboa Theatre in San Diego.

“This year, the five essay winners told us stories of their struggles, and the issues they’re wrestling with challenged their very identity,” said Behrmann.  “Each of them, however, found a home in the arts, and through that, they realized they didn’t need to be defined by outside forces.  The theatre helped them find the strength inside.  As I read their essays, the phrase that kept repeating in my head was ‘You are enough.’ That became the main hook of the song.”

Read about the 2016 Ben Vereen Awards here.