Eden Espinosa and More Slated for NAMT's THE 46TH MINUTE Concert Tonight

National Alliance for Musical Theatre kicks off the 29th Annual Festival of New Musicals with its celebrated The 46th Minute concert tonight, October 18th, at 6:30 pm directed by Branden Huldeen and produced for NAMT by Ciera Iveson with Karin Nilo.

This Festival favorite of intimate performances undergoes a make-over for NAMT's 29th season! This year, instead of featuring cut songs from the current crop of Festival shows, The 46th Minute one-night-only event catches up with past shows, shining a spotlight on eight shows that were featured at the Festival of New Musicals over the past decade.

NAMT members may purchase tickets at the lowest possible price when registering for the Fall Conference and/or Festival of New Musicals. Non-members may go to Telecharge or the New World Stages box office.

The cast includes Eden Espinosa (Broadway: Wicked), Adam Halpin (Broadway: Dear Evan Hansen), Brittney Johnson (Broadway: Beautiful, Motown, Sunset Boulevard, Les Miserables), Mike O'Brien (Regional: Three Philly Tenors), Bonnie Milligan (National Tour: Kinky Boots), Megan McGinnis (Broadway: Side Show, Les Mis), Lars Mølsted (Reumert Talent Prize for Best Singer), Eric William Morris (Broadway: Coram Boy, Mamma Mia) and Zach Prince (Broadway: Honeymoon in Vegas), Rob Tucker (Regional: Tom Sawyer: A Musical) and more.

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This year's The 46th Minute will feature songs from:

BEATSVILLE (Festival 2008) by Glenn Slater and Wendy Wilf
BEATSVILLE had its World Premiere at Asolo Rep in a co-production with The 5th Avenue Theatre and additional development at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and NYU Steinhardt.

Greenwich Village, 1959-Playground of bohemians, beatniks and jazzbos. Tragically square Walter Paisley finds that his clay figures, sculpted nudes, and papier-maché busts bring him the acceptance he desperately yearns for. But what if the world discovers that Walter's body of work consists of actual bodies? A bebop-inflected black comedy/satire.

BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR (Festival 2011) by Adam Gwon and Julia Jordan
BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR had a developmental production at the Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma in 2015.

Bernice Bobs Her Hair is based on the classic short story of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald as well as letters he wrote to his sister. It is a story of "the shifting, semi-cruel world of adolescence" set in a time of transformation for American women. Young men and women dance and flirt and engage in character assassination in the time-honored pursuit of romance and status. The story is retold with an eye to the future which Fitzgerald anticipates but could not have predicted.

BIG RED SUN (Festival 2010) by Georgia Stitt and John Jiler
Hour Theatre Company, York Theatre and thBIG RED SUN has had additional development at 11University of Nebraska.

A teenage boy unearths a dark family secret as he searches for his long-lost father through the bewildering landscape of post-WWII America... where innocence has vanished, and the simple melodies of Kern and Berlin have been replaced by the dizzying energy of jazz and the birth of rock-and-roll.

LEGENDALE (Festival 2015) by Andrea Daly and Jeff Bienstock
LEGENDALE had its World Premiere at Fredericia Teater in Denmark in March 2017and its American Premiere at Human Race Theatre Co. in Fall 2017.

Legendale is an original, contemporary comedy about the power of fantasy. Andy's favorite way to escape his humdrum life is the online game "Legendale." He dreams of victory in the game's tournament, but gets stuck competing as a lowly milkmaid, whose sole skill is crafting cheese. When the game world takes a sudden turn for the unexpected, Andy and his avatar must both learn how to summon their inner warriors. Legendale blends romance, adventure and virtual reality, over a pop-infused score.

LIZZIE (Festival 2010) by Steven Cheslik-DeMeyer, Alan Stevens Hewitt and Tim Maner
LIZZIE has enjoyed full productions all over the world including Playhouse Square/Baldwin Wallace University, TUTS Underground, Portland Center Stage and Fredericia Theatre in Denmark. It is licensed by the authors with planned productions across the country.

A rock show retelling of the bloody legend of America's first and favorite axe-wielding double murderess and Victorian hometown girl, Lizzie Borden. Featuring four fierce rocker girls and a live band, this driving musical reveals why Lizzie took up that axe and how she became an American folk hero.

MY HEART IS THE DRUM (Festival 2013) by Jennie Redling, Phillip Palmer and Stacey Luftig
MY HEART IS THE DRUM had its World Premiere at Village Theatre and additional development at Kent State University and Goodspeed Musicals Johnny Mercer Writers Colony. The writers received the Fred Ebb Award for their music and lyrics, the 2016 Kleban Prize and 2017 BMI Jerry Bock Award.

Efua Kuti is determined to leave her small village in Ghana and attend university, against all odds. Defying her parents, she risks everything to set off for the big city. But what awaits her there is more dangerous than she dared imagine, and she finds that more than just her dreams are at stake. With driving rhythms and rich vocal harmonies, this big, coming-of-age musical celebrates the promise within us all.

THE NOTEWORTHY LIFE OF HOWARD BARNES (Festival 2014) by Christopher Dimond and Michael Kooman
Since they were at the NAMT Festival, THE NOTEWORTHY LIFE OF HOWARD BARNES was presented at Goodspeed Musicals' Festival of New Musicals.

Howard Barnes is a perfectly average, if emotionally repressed, man in his early thirties. That is, until the day that he wakes up to discover that his life has become a musical. Desperate to escape from the show and get his normal life back, Howard teams up with Maggie, an aspiring actress who works in his office. Together, the two embark on a fantastical quest through the realm of musical theater. Along the way, Howard discovers that he must let go of the past and open himself up to the possibility of love. In doing so, he learns to embrace the music. Equal parts satire, romantic comedy, and love letter to the American musical, The Noteworthy life of Howard Barnes is intended for people who love musical theater, and their spouses who hate it.

TRIANGLE (Festival 2012) by Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore
TRIANGLE had its World Premiere at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley and additional development at Goodspeed Musicals Johnny Mercer Writers Colony and Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. The writers received the 2016 Fred Ebb Award.

An original mystery-romance, Triangle tells two love stories, set in the same New York City building but a hundred years apart. As lives begin to weave together across the century, long-buried secrets are uncovered and ghosts of the past begin to influence the future.

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The 46th Minute is sponsored by Goodspeed Musicals (Lead Sponsor), Fredericia Theater and New Works Development Centre Uterus and McCoy Rigby Entertainment with La Mirada Theatre (Supporting Sponsors).

Now in its 29th year, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS attracts theatre producers from around the world for this industry-only event to discover eight new musicals presented in 45-minute concert presentations over two days. All production costs are underwritten by NAMT, at no cost to the writing teams. As a non-profit organization, NAMT funds the Festival entirely through donations, sponsorships and contributions.

This year, a committee of 16 theatre professionals selected eight new musicals out of 240 blind submissions. The musicals they chose for the 29th Annual Festival are: Darling Grenadine (book, music & lyrics by Daniel Zaitchik), Fall Springs (music & lyrics by Niko Tsakalakos, book & lyrics by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb), GIRL Shakes Loose (music & lyrics by Imani Uzuri, book & lyrics by Zakiyyah Alexander, poetry by Sonia Sanchez), Klook's Last Stand (book by Ché Walker, music by Omar Lyefook & Anoushka Lucas, lyrics by Ché Walker & Anoushka Lucas), Persephone (book & lyrics by Marcus Stevens, music by Oran Eldor),The Passage (book, music & lyrics by David Darrow), Prom Queen (book by Kent Staines, lyrics by Akiva Romer-Segal, music by Colleen Dauncey), and Sam's Room (book by Dale Sampson with Trey Coates-Mitchell, music & lyrics by Caitlin Marie Bell, Marc Campbell & Dale Sampson).

The Festival has introduced musical theatre producers to 244 musicals and 460 writers from around the world. As a direct result of the FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, more than 85% of the musicals presented have gone on to subsequent readings, workshops, productions and tours, been licensed, and/or recorded on cast albums. Some past Festival shows include this year's Best Musical Tony Award-nominee Come From Away, The Drowsy Chaperone, It Shoulda Been You, Striking 12, Ordinary Days, Thoroughly Modern Millie, as well as regional productions of recent Festival alums Benny & Joon, The Mad Ones, When We're Gone and The Loneliest Girl in the World among many others.

NAMI thanks Presenting Sponsor Broadway Licensing and Platinum Sponsor The Musical Company for their support of the Festival.

NAMT thanks the following foundations, government agencies and organizations for their ongoing support of our programs: The Alhadeff Charitable Foundation, The Alliance of Resident Theatres/New York Creative Spaces Grant, ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund, BMI Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, The Dubose and Dorothy Heyward Memorial Fund, Friars Foundation, The Hollywood Pantages, a Nederlander Organization, National Endowment for the Arts, The Noël Coward Foundation, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Ted Snowdon Foundation and an anonymous donor.