About 500 new UFT members had the chance to see “How to Dance in Ohio” at Teachers Night on Broadway on Feb. 1.

“It was complete joy,” said UFT Vice President Karen Alford, who leads the union’s new member initiative. “The show spoke to all of us as educators.”

The annual event is organized by the UFT in conjunction with the Broadway League.

Conor Tague

The musical, playing at the Belasco Theatre, is about seven autistic young adults — played by seven autistic young actors — who face many challenges as they prepare to attend a spring formal dance that their group therapy counselor is organizing. The show, which is based on a 2015 HBO documentary of the same name, closed on Feb. 11.

After the play, actor Conor Tague, a New York City public school graduate making his Broadway debut as “Tommy,” thanked from the stage classroom teachers, school social workers, school counselors, school nurses, librarians, and art, music and theater teachers for “nurturing the next generation of producers, performers, musicians, directors, writers, stagehands, designers and Broadway audiences.”

“We know you are always there for your students, providing them with emotional support and a lifeline,” said Tague, a graduate of Repertory Company HS for Theatre Arts in Manhattan.

In the audience was Jessica Roach, Tague’s early elementary school teacher. Roach, a special education teacher, taught Tague when he was part of the Autism Nest Program at PS 112 in Manhattan.

“I brought four new teachers from my school to the performance so they could see the impact that we have on our students,” Roach said.

When Tague was in her class, she said, he loved Readers Theater, acting and doing voices. At PS 206, the sister school of PS 112 that he moved on to in 3rd grade, he did the moonwalk in a talent show. “That was his signature move,” she said.

Roach said she wasn’t able to speak with Tague in person at the performance, but “if I could, I would just say how proud I am of him.”

The experience was uplifting for her.

“We don’t always see our kids later on in life because life moves on, but it’s a good feeling to see them be successful and develop into adults,” she said.