Keala Settle Set for THE MUSIC BOX at NYMF, 7/21

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) present The Music Box, An Evening of Lady Composers. Recent Tony-nominee Keala Settle (Hands on a Hardbody) is set to appear and Karen Azenberg (Artistic Director - Pioneer Theatre, Salt Lake City) will direct this special one-night-only concert event.

The Music Box will feature music by Masi Asare, Lydia Benecke, Suzy Conn, Julianne Wick Davis, Carmel Dean, Amy Engelhardt, Amanda Green, Marcy Heisler & Zina Goldrich, Anna K. Jacobs, Stephanie Johnstone, Kailey Marshall, Grace McLean, Julia Meinwald, Madeline Myers, Juliana Nash, Susannah Pearce, Kamala Sankaram, and Zoe Sarnak. Among them, they have 3 MAC Awards, 3 Jonathan Larson Awards, two Tony nominations, five Drama Desk Nominations, one Fred Ebb Awards for Excellence in Songwriting and one Grammy nomination, to name a few of their many accolades.

Joining Ms. Settle in the cast are Helen Anker (Newsies), Jacqueline B. Arnold (Priscilla Queen of the Desert), Pierce Cravens (Ragtime), Michael Halling (The Boy from Oz), Tamra Hayden (Cabaret), Melissa Mitchell (Giant), Nik Walker (Motown the Musical), and Cortney Wolfson (Kinky Boots), among others.

Tickets are $25 and available at nymf.org.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theatre culture by discovering and promoting new musical theatre artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience.

Now in its tenth year, the Festival is the largest musical theatre event in America. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theater fans. More than 85 festival shows have gone on to productions on and off-Broadway, in 48 states, and more than 20 countries worldwide, and Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form."

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2013 is presented in association with Dunkin' Donuts, BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group, TheaterMania.com, New World Stages, Fox 5 New York, Tilson Consulting, The Out NYC, King Displays, Times Square Squared, Thomson Reuters, Nasdaq OMX, Backstage, Next Magazine, Ironpaper, BroadwayInsider.com, TheMenEvent.com, and Yelp. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The BWF Foundation, Con Edison, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer Phinney, The New Musical Development Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League.

NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating are currently on sale. To purchase memberships or single tickets for Festival events, call (212) 352-3101 or visit www.nymf.org.

For more information, please visit: www.nymf.org