New York Musical Theatre Festival
Encyclopedia
The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district. More than half of these productions are chosen by leading theater artists and producers through an open-submission, double-blind evaluation process; the remaining shows are invited to participate by the Festival's artistic staff.
As of November 2009, the festival has premiered over 200 musicals, which have featured the work of over 6,000 artists and have been attended by 170,000 theatergoers. As of August 2010, NYMF alumni productions had been produced in 44 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia, and in 16 countries worldwide.
, Gutenberg! The Musical!
, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
, and title of show
, to adaptations of classic stories like Caligula, The Portrait of Dorian Gray and Much Ado About Nothing (About Face).
In addition to full productions, NYMF presents a wide range of special events, readings and concerts of new music, educational seminars, explorations of musicals in TV and film, and unusual collaborations with other New York-based arts organizations.
In 2005, the Festival featured a series of co-productions with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater exploring the nexus of improvisation and musical theater. NYMF has also partnered with The Paley Center each season to present special screenings of Musicals on Television.
Also in 2005, the New York Musical Theatre Festival received the 21st Jujamcyn Theaters Award, a $100,000 prize given to a not-for-profit institution that has made an "outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent for the theatre."
NYMF also features a Dance Series, celebrating the fusion of musical theatre and dance.[4] Each series included one new musical commissioned by the Festival: Common Grounds (2006), Platforms (2007), Wild About Harry (2008), and Andy Warhol Was Right (2009).
During the off season, NYMF produces a number of concerts, from large star-studded evenings like "The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds
", to intimate events like a salon with Grammy Award nominee and Spring Awakening composer Duncan Sheik
. It also operates a year-round writer service program, The Next Link Project, which provides dramaturgical, professional, entrepreneurial and financial support to help writers bring their musicals to fruition as fully staged productions. The Next Link Project culminates with twelve writing teams each year receiving subsidized productions in NYMF's fall Festival.
Some of the shows that have transferred to commercial or major non-profit runs include: the long-running, Off-Broadway hit Altar Boyz
, The Big Voice: God or Merman, Captain Louie, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
, Gutenberg! The Musical!
, Meet John Doe, Nerds:// A Musical Software Satire, Shout! The Mod Musical [11] and Yank!
On July 17, 2008, the musical title of show became the first show to transfer from the New York Musical Theatre Festival to a commercial Broadway
production when it opened at the Lyceum Theatre. The show closed October 12, 2008 after playing 13 previews and 102 performances. It was produced by Kevin McCollum
, the producer of Rent
and Avenue Q
, as well as Roy Miller, producer of Drowsy Chaperone, the Vineyard Theatre
, Laura Camien and Kris Stewart
, founder emeritus of the New York Musical Theatre Festival.
In 2009, Next To Normal became the second show to transfer from the New York Musical Theatre Festival to a commercial Broadway production. It became a smash hit at the Booth Theatre, winning 3 Tony Awards including Best Score and Best Leading Actress In A Musical. "Next To Normal" went on to win the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, only the ninth musical to be so honored in the history of that award.
Also in 2009, NYMF began a partnership with the Daegu International Musical Theatre Festival (DIMF), which shares its dedication to new musicals and new artists. The partnership includes a production exchange, which began with the hit Korean production of My Scary Girl at NYMF, and continued in the Summer of 2010 with the 2009 NYMF musical Academy at DIMF. NYMF's Korean production of Academy received awards for Best Musical and Best Supporting Actor at the annual Daegu Musical Theater Awards.
In August 2010, NYMF announced that writer-director Baz Luhrmann
would serve as Honorary Chairman of its 2010 Festival.
(NYMF '04) Off-Broadway, New World Stages, New York City; 2005–2010 [title of show] (NYMF '04) Broadway, The Lyceum Theatre, New York City; 2008
Next to Normal (NYMF '05 as Feeling Electric) Broadway, The Booth Theatre, New York City; 2009-2011
Yank! (NYMF '04) Off-Broadway, York Theatre, New York City; 2010
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
(NYMF '04) Off-Broadway, New World Stages, New York City; 2005 Gutenberg! The Musical!
(NYMF '06) Off-Broadway, 59E59 and Actor's Playhouse, New York City; 2006 Rooms: A Rock Romance (NYMF '05) Off-Broadway, New World Stages; 2009
Nerds: A Musical Software Satire" (NYMF '05) Philadelphia Theatre Company; 2007 - Barrymore Awards for Best New Play and Outstanding Original Music
As of November 2009, the festival has premiered over 200 musicals, which have featured the work of over 6,000 artists and have been attended by 170,000 theatergoers. As of August 2010, NYMF alumni productions had been produced in 44 U.S. states (plus the District of Columbia, and in 16 countries worldwide.
History
NYMF audiences have enjoyed premieres of new musicals from Australia, Britain, Canada and the United States, featuring a broad spectrum of contemporary musical styles including R&B, jazz, hip-hop, Broadway, emo-pop, rock, punk, ska, country and opera. NYMF premieres have ranged from original pieces like Next To Normal, Altar BoyzAltar Boyz
Altar Boyz is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and book by Kevin Del Aguila . Centering on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio, the show satirizes, among other things, the phenomenon of boy bands and the popularity of Christian-themed music in...
, Gutenberg! The Musical!
Gutenberg! The Musical!
Gutenberg! The Musical! is a musical written by Scott Brown and Anthony King. Brown and King developed the show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, where it ran for over a year...
, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso. It was performed in the first annual New York Music Theater Festival in 2004...
, and title of show
Title of show
[title of show] is a one-act musical, with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and a book by Hunter Bell. The show chronicles its own creation as an entry in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and follows the struggles of the author and composer/lyricist and their two actress friends during the...
, to adaptations of classic stories like Caligula, The Portrait of Dorian Gray and Much Ado About Nothing (About Face).
In addition to full productions, NYMF presents a wide range of special events, readings and concerts of new music, educational seminars, explorations of musicals in TV and film, and unusual collaborations with other New York-based arts organizations.
In 2005, the Festival featured a series of co-productions with the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater exploring the nexus of improvisation and musical theater. NYMF has also partnered with The Paley Center each season to present special screenings of Musicals on Television.
Also in 2005, the New York Musical Theatre Festival received the 21st Jujamcyn Theaters Award, a $100,000 prize given to a not-for-profit institution that has made an "outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent for the theatre."
NYMF also features a Dance Series, celebrating the fusion of musical theatre and dance.[4] Each series included one new musical commissioned by the Festival: Common Grounds (2006), Platforms (2007), Wild About Harry (2008), and Andy Warhol Was Right (2009).
During the off season, NYMF produces a number of concerts, from large star-studded evenings like "The Unauthorized Musicology of Ben Folds
Ben Folds
Benjamin Scott "Ben" Folds is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and television personality. From 1995-2000, Folds was the frontman and pianist of the alternative rock band Ben Folds Five. Since the group disbanded, Folds has performed as a solo artist and has toured all over the world...
", to intimate events like a salon with Grammy Award nominee and Spring Awakening composer Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Scott Sheik is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik initially found success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". He later expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, leading him to involvement in the...
. It also operates a year-round writer service program, The Next Link Project, which provides dramaturgical, professional, entrepreneurial and financial support to help writers bring their musicals to fruition as fully staged productions. The Next Link Project culminates with twelve writing teams each year receiving subsidized productions in NYMF's fall Festival.
Some of the shows that have transferred to commercial or major non-profit runs include: the long-running, Off-Broadway hit Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and book by Kevin Del Aguila . Centering on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio, the show satirizes, among other things, the phenomenon of boy bands and the popularity of Christian-themed music in...
, The Big Voice: God or Merman, Captain Louie, The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso. It was performed in the first annual New York Music Theater Festival in 2004...
, Gutenberg! The Musical!
Gutenberg! The Musical!
Gutenberg! The Musical! is a musical written by Scott Brown and Anthony King. Brown and King developed the show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, where it ran for over a year...
, Meet John Doe, Nerds:// A Musical Software Satire, Shout! The Mod Musical [11] and Yank!
On July 17, 2008, the musical title of show became the first show to transfer from the New York Musical Theatre Festival to a commercial Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production when it opened at the Lyceum Theatre. The show closed October 12, 2008 after playing 13 previews and 102 performances. It was produced by Kevin McCollum
Kevin McCollum
Kevin McCollum is one of the leading producers on Broadway. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1984....
, the producer of Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
and Avenue Q
Avenue Q
Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...
, as well as Roy Miller, producer of Drowsy Chaperone, the Vineyard Theatre
Vineyard Theatre
The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981...
, Laura Camien and Kris Stewart
Kris Stewart (director)
Kris Stewart is an Australian theatre director and producer.Stewart was the founding director of the New York Musical Theatre Festival and is the inaugural festival director of The Sydney Fringe festival. He is also the resident director of the Australian production of the musical Wicked.-References:...
, founder emeritus of the New York Musical Theatre Festival.
In 2009, Next To Normal became the second show to transfer from the New York Musical Theatre Festival to a commercial Broadway production. It became a smash hit at the Booth Theatre, winning 3 Tony Awards including Best Score and Best Leading Actress In A Musical. "Next To Normal" went on to win the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, only the ninth musical to be so honored in the history of that award.
Also in 2009, NYMF began a partnership with the Daegu International Musical Theatre Festival (DIMF), which shares its dedication to new musicals and new artists. The partnership includes a production exchange, which began with the hit Korean production of My Scary Girl at NYMF, and continued in the Summer of 2010 with the 2009 NYMF musical Academy at DIMF. NYMF's Korean production of Academy received awards for Best Musical and Best Supporting Actor at the annual Daegu Musical Theater Awards.
In August 2010, NYMF announced that writer-director Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
would serve as Honorary Chairman of its 2010 Festival.
Notable Alumni Productions
Altar Boyz
Altar Boyz is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker and book by Kevin Del Aguila . Centering on a fictitious Christian boy band from Ohio, the show satirizes, among other things, the phenomenon of boy bands and the popularity of Christian-themed music in...
(NYMF '04) Off-Broadway, New World Stages, New York City; 2005–2010
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
The Great American Trailer Park Musical is a two-act musical, written by David Nehls and Betsy Kelso. It was performed in the first annual New York Music Theater Festival in 2004...
(NYMF '04) Off-Broadway, New World Stages, New York City; 2005
Gutenberg! The Musical!
Gutenberg! The Musical! is a musical written by Scott Brown and Anthony King. Brown and King developed the show at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City, where it ran for over a year...
(NYMF '06) Off-Broadway, 59E59 and Actor's Playhouse, New York City; 2006
External links
- The New York Musical Theatre Festival Official Site
- New York Musical Theatre Festival Downstage Center XM radio interview at American Theatre WingAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
, 2006 - http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/1336132171.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Sep+15%2C+2007&author=Julia+Klein&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&edition=&startpage=E.22&desc=Musical+theater%27s+field+of+dreams%3B+Some+compare+it+to+Sundance.+That%27s+high+praise+for+the+New+York+Musical+Theatre+Festival+--+considering+it%27s+only+4. Los Angeles Times feature on the 2006 New York Musical Theatre Festival