KIKI BABY, LAST WORD, et al. Featured at 2011 NYMF

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the first wave of invited musicals for its eighth annual festival, which join NYMF's previously announced Next Link Project productions on the 2011 Festival slate. A full breakdown of these seven new musicals follows. The rest of this season's programming, including additional full productions and special events, will be announced in the coming weeks. This year's Festival will begin September 26th and continue through October 16th.

Lonny Price, Donna Drake, Michael Bush and Jeremy Dobrish will all be directing NYMF shows this year and David Shire has written the music and lyrics for a NYMF show as well.

Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered more than 250 new musicals - more than 70 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters, in almost every state, and in 16 countries worldwide. NYMF alum Next to Normal opened on Broadway last year, where it won 3 Tony Awards (along with 8 other nominations) and was awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. The Broadway production of NYMF alum [title of show] earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. NYMF 2004 hit Altar Boyz played well over 1,500 performances Off-Broadway and spawned two National Tours. Yank!, which played to acclaim off-Broadway, recently announced a pre-Broadway workshop at the Old Globe Theatre.

"We are extremely excited about the diversity of our slate so far," said NYMF Executive Director and Producer Isaac Robert Hurwitz. "While the remaining full productions will be announced shortly, we believe that the 2011 NYMF Festival will continue to push the art of musical theater forward. Our goal remains to bring the best new musicals and events to our audiences and the New York theatre community."

This year's Festival will run September 26th through October 16th. Memberships are on sale now and members can start booking tickets on August 1st. Single tickets will go on sale beginning September 1st. To purchase a membership, please visit www.nymf.org/member.

The First 7 Invited NYMF Musicals:

CYCLOPS: A ROCK OPERA
Inspired by Percy Bysshe Shelley's translation of Euripides' CYCLOPS
Book by Chas LiBretto
Music and Lyrics by Jayson Landon Marcus with Benjamin Sherman
Conceived by Psittacus Productions
Directed by Louis Butelli
The Satyrs: an epic rock band comprised of shirtless goat men, desperate only for a drink and a shag. The Cyclops: a one-eyed, flesh-hungry monster - with a dash of Freddie Mercury. Odysseus: a weary soldier, with a ukulele, just trying to get home. Put them all in a cave and you get Cyclops, hailed as a "thrilling freak show" (LA Times), and "genius" (NPR). A "proud cousin" to Hedwig, it is guaranteed to melt your face off.

ENNIO: The Living Paper Cartoon
Created and Performed by Ennio Marchetto
The global phenomenon Ennio Marchetto is the original transformation artist, revolutionizing the art of origami into a unique performance that is nothing short of comic genius. With his hilarious physical comedy, a sizzling soundtrack and ingenious paper costumes, Ennio magically and hysterically morphs into over 50 of our favorite personalities from Lady Gaga and Eminem to Fred Astaire and Mona Lisa. Wonderfully, wickedly funny! "A sustained hour of heaven by an entertainer touched by genius...this is performance at its crazy, creative unfettered best." (Time Out, London)

Kiki Baby
Based on the novel "Sing, Brat, Sing" by Rene Fulop-Miller
Book by Lonny Price and Kitt Lavoie
Lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh
Music by Grant Sturiale
Direction by Lonny Price and Matt Cowart
Germany. 1931. Christine Maladan is the only thing standing between her family and the pit of a worldwide depression, until one day a visiting impresario hears the voice of an angel floating from her flat - and determines to make her four-year-old daughter an international star. A tale of fame, fortune, failed opera divas, dwarfs, sweatshop bosses, monumentally bad parenting, and what happens to a little girl when no one will tell her "no."

The Last Word
Book by Kevin Ray and Josh Sohn; Additional Story by Suellen Vance
Music and Lyrics by Kevin Ray
Directed by Christopher Windom

It's 1940s Los Angeles and the hottest place to be seen is Central Avenue... on The Edge of Hollywood where hot swing blows all night long at clubs like Jack's Chicken Basket and the Club Alabam. Sax players and brothers Bill and Jim Marcel struggle to carve out their own legacies, but to do so they must overcome a destructive rivalry, addiction, and tragedy before it's too late.

Les Enfants de Paris
Book by Stacey Weingarten
Music and Lyrics by David Levinson
Additional Development and Direction by Donna Drake

The streets of Paris are not safe after young Pierre Frollo's love for a fiery Muslim refugee sparks a series of cataclysmic events. Featuring a chanson- and Arab-influenced score, this gripping musical re-sets Victor Hugo's Notre Dame De Paris amongst the disenfranchised youth and xenophobia of France 1958, and the Algerian War for Independence.

My History of Marriage
Book and Lyrics by Lee Kalcheim
Music and Lyrics by David Shire
Directed by Michael Bush

After surviving a disastrous divorce, New York Magazine writer Nan Freeman finds her illustrious career flushed down the pipes. Her last chance at a comeback arrives in the form of a lecherous publisher and a lunatic proposal: Nan must write a book about the history of marriage. Scenes from her book take us on a hilarious journey through the annals of matrimony where she learns a thing or two about her own relationships. Will she give love another shot?

This One Girl's Story
Book by Bil Wright
Music and Lyrics by Dionne McClain-Freeney
Directed by Jeremy Dobrish

Meet Cee-Cee and her friends - four women in search of a drama-free night filled with dancing and maybe a little romance - hopefully not with yet another W.G.F.M. (Wrong Girl For Me). They've ditched Newark to party in the Big City, but a shocking incident forces them to face difficult truths about themselves. Inspired by actual events, this powerful musical combines R&B, jazz, gospel and hip-hop to sing a tale about love and courage.