Cast Announced for New Rock Musical BREAKING THE MOON, Coming to NYMF

The New York Musical Festival (NYMF) presents Breaking the Moon, a new hard-hitting rock musical about teen suicide written and composed by Amy Steinberg. The cast of 7 includes Nicholas Clementi, Ashley Covington, Ailey Finn, Andrew Henriques, Juliana Kantor, Kate Leach, and Colin Samole. Breaking the Moonis a NYMF special event and is being staged at Theater 511, 511 West 54th Street (bet. 10th and 11th Aves.) in NYC for four performances from August 3-6, 2016.

Each year, 50,000 teens attempt suicide and a thousand complete. Breaking the Moon is a long one act empower pop musical that shines the light on the struggles that leads teens to these dark places. The piece takes place in a treatment center where 7 teenagers fight to find their voices and release their secrets, so they can ultimately move on with their lives and have hopeful knowing that they matter. Each of them fights a different battle, but they are all connected like stars in a constellation. Issues that are dealt with are sexuality, rape, divorce, drugs, self-esteem and more. It's a character driven piece that breaks the heart open so the light can shine through. The fresh score and intense book are both written by nationally touring singer/songwriter Amy Steinberg, who also directed and choreographed the piece. A talkback will follow the performance.

Breaking the Moon is an Official Selection of the 2016 New York Musical Festival. Understudies: Eliana Griffith & Gage Tarlton. General Manager: Simpson & Longthorne Theatricals; Assistant Director: Gina Stewart; Publicist: Paul Siebold/Off Off PR.

Breaking the Moon plays for five performances on the following schedule: Wednesday, August 3, 2016 at 8:00 pm; Thursday, August 4, 2016 at 8:00 pm; Friday, August 5, 2016 @ 8:00 pm; Saturday, August 6, 2016 at 1:00 pm; Saturday, August 6, 2016 at 5:00 pm.

Tickets are $27.50 and can be purchased online at nymf.org or by calling 212-352-3101. For more information, please visit nymf.org.

The runtime for Breaking the Moon is ninety minutes with no intermission.

Amy Steinberg (book, music & lyrics) - is a singer, songwriter and storyteller like none other. Described as uplifting, enlightening and hilarious with a voice that can burn the house down, the main thrust of her work comes from marrying the sacred and profane, fusing the dreamlike nature of Spirit with the rooted realness of sexuality and humor. Amy plays the piano and guitar with her own swingy rhythmic bounce, injecting shades of jazz, rock, hip hop, and poetry, all with a theatrical flair. Deeply soulful, with her bombastic belt, she sings of self-love, open-mindedness, and the holiness of everything. While producing indie CDs of her music, Amy has performed around the country. As music director at the Spiritual Living Center of Charlotte, she became deeply involved with the New Thought Music world, playing at conferences, churches, festivals all over the country, and in 2013 released "Intimate with the Infinite," a collection of only spiritual songs. In 2014, she was nominated for 2 Posi Awards, and performed in the renowned Agape Spiritual Center in Los Angeles. Her 10th independent release, "Broken Open" is now available on iTunes and is receiving rave reviews. Amy has performed 5 one-woman shows, notably "Oh My God Don't Stop," a piece about God and sex, which won Patron's Pick at the Orlando Fringe. Her first musical with other people in it is "Breaking the Moon." Amy blogs for Huffington Post, teaches at Children's Theatre of Charlotte, NC and has 10 albums. Her song "Burning into the High" won a 2016 Posi Award in the Personal Transformation Category.

The New York Musical Festival nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theater.

Now in its thirteenth year, the Festival is the premier musical theater event in the world. 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 90 Festival shows have gone on to productions on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters in all 50 states, and in more than 24 countries worldwide. Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theatre, 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 2015 is sponsored by The City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Fuzzrocket, PRG, TheaterMania, and Clear Channel Spectacolor, and is supported, in part, 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.

The NYMF PASS is a great way to experience The New York Musical Festival. With a NYMF PASS, you can get into the theater before individual ticket holders. Passes also offer the exclusive ability to book tickets before they go on sale to the public. Individual tickets are now on sale!

The 2016 New York Musical Festival will take place July 11 - August 7. For more information, please visit: www.nymf.org

Meet the Cast

Nicholas Clementi has been having an awesome time in Pop Theater, working with Miss Amy and the other kids bringing her play to life. Nicholas is in 7th grade at Holy Trinity Middle School. He was in Charlotte Children's Choir for 2 years. But, it was playing the part of the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz that gave him the acting bug. He is in his second year at Charlotte Children's theater. And last spring he played Jack in Into the Woods.

Ashley Covington has been a singer/dancer and pianist since age 4 and enjoys performing songs from recording artists as well as her own originals. She is 15 and currently a 9th-grader at NWSA, majoring in Piano & Chorus, and likes spending time outdoors.

Andrew Henriques is a sophomore at Mallard Creek High School. Andrew has so far worked primarily as an actor, with some musical and dance training. He has performed professionally with Children's Theatre of Charlotte for the last three years, and is currently working on his second full length Indie film with Acting Out Studios.

Kate Leach is a sophomore at Charlotte Catholic High School. She has been involved in theater classes and performances for 5 years at her school and at Children's Theatre of Charlotte. Kate loves being with her friends and family and doing fun things around Charlotte.

Colin Samole has been homeschooled his entire life and is a junior in high-school. Colin's life has been dedicated to the theater since he was a small child, and his love for the craft has only grown since. He has been with Children's Theater of Charlotte for just about 4 years learning to hone other skills such as dance and voice. He has also worked with community theater programs for a good portion of his career.

Julianna Kantor is a freshman at East Mecklenburg High School, she started performing by singing along to Disney movies, which progressed into musical theatre lesson at age 3. She hasn't stopped since. Recent performances include parts in Footloose, Cabaret, Aida and Into the Woods Jr.

Ailey Finn is a 13 year old freshman at Central Academy of Technology and Arts. She has been seen in numerous productions in the area, including To Kill a Mockingbird at Theatre Charlotte where she played Scout, Into the Woods at CTC playing Little Red, Shrek Jr. with Teen City Stage and many more.