LIBERTY: A NEW MUSICAL to Premiere September 29 at NYMF; Casting to Be Announced Shortly

Producer Theresa Wozunk and the New York Musical Theater Festival present a world premiere concert presentation of LIBERTY: A NEW MUSICAL for one night only on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 8 p.m. at Theatre Row’s Acorn Theatre (410 W 42nd Street). Casting will be announced shortly.

Directed by Igor Goldin, LIBERTY features a book and lyrics by Dana Leslie Goldstein and music by Jonathan Goldstein. Currently preparing for an expanded run in the summer of 2010, LIBERTY tells the story of America’s most famous immigrant who arrives from France in 1884 amid anti-foreigner fervor. With powerful political forces working against her and only a precious few on her side, Liberty ultimately wins over the people of the United States and takes her rightful place. LIBERTY serves as a theatrical reminder not only of what this country was meant to become, but how we have, in recent years, lost sight of the “Golden Door.”

Tickets for LIBERTY: A NEW MUSICAL at the New York Musical Theatre Festival are $20 and are available by visiting www.nymf.org/Show-1234.html or by calling 212.352.3101.

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2009 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by Back Stage, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos, King Displays, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, New World Stages, NASDAQ OMX, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, Queerty.com, Reuters, Sweet Caroline's, Tekserve, TheMenEvent.com, The Tank, and Times Square Squared. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The Broadway League, The BWF Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. This program is supported, in part, by public funds the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council. NYMF's programs are made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

For more information on LIBERTY: A New Musical, please visit: www.libertythemusical.com.

DANA Leslie Goldstein (Book & Lyrics) has been awarded the New England New Play Competition, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Prize for Excellence in Playwriting, Different Voices New Play Award, ACTF New Play Award, Henry Hoyns Fellowship in Poetry, AWP Intro Award for Poetry and an Academy of American Poets Prize for her work. She is the librettist & lyricist for Cyclone and The Pig-Faced Lady, a new musical which began its development with a Collaboration Initiative Grant from The Women’s Project & Productions and was an official Next Link selection of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Cyclone was produced at The Barrow Group as part of NYMF 2008. Dana’s work has been seen at The Cherry Lane Theater, The Culture Project, The Julia Miles Theatre, The York, New Dramatists, Hartford Children’s Theatre, Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center, Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center, Center Stage, BMI, Bickford Theatre, Vineyard Playhouse, Pulse, Theatre Row Theatre, Jewish Theatre of the South, Gene Frankel Theater, Different Voices, The Lark, Neighborhood Playhouse, WorkShop Theater Company, Pacific Theatre (Vancouver), Ellis Island and Liberty Island, as well as on Equity TYA tours throughout the East coast. Dana’s play Next Year in Jerusalem will be produced by The Workshop Theater Company as its first MainStage production of the 2009-2010 season. Dana is a published poet and playwright and holds MFAs in both Playwriting and Poetry. She has been a lyricist at BMI and a member of the Playwrights’ Lab at The Women’s Project. Dana is a member of The Workshop Theater Company, NewShoe and The Dramatists Guild of America.

Jonathan Goldstein (Composer). Jonathan’s work has been seen at The Cherry Lane Theatre, The Culture Project, Hartford Children’s Theatre, WorkShop Theater Company, The York Theatre, Helen Hayes Performing Arts Center, Flushing Town Hall and on Equity TYA tours in NY/NJ/CT through Theater Garden. Previous composing credits include Lady of Copper; Enough For All, Spark & The Strangers and This Year in Jerusalem. Jon is the author of The Road to Freedom.

Igor Goldin (Director). For the New York Musical Theatre Festival: Main-Travelled Roads (NYMF 2008 – Richard Rodgers Award staged reading), Unlock’d (NYMF 2007 Best In Fest Award; Talkin’ Broadway Outstanding New Summer Musical), Common Grounds (NYMF 2006 Award for Excellence In Direction) and YANK! (NYMF 2005 – Talkin’ Broadway Outstanding New Summer Musical). YANK! and Unlock’d also received staged readings at the York Theatre in their Developmental Reading Series. Other productions of YANK!: Diversionary Theatre, San Diego (Best Musical of 2007-2008; Outstanding Achievement in Direction of a Musical by StageScene L.A.); The Gallery Players, NY (GLAAD Award nomination; 2008 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical). Other credits include: Love, Incorporated for the Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival (2008 Award for Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical) and starring Paolo Montalban for the Virginia Arts Festival (Stan Raiff producer); Like You Like It for The Gallery Players (2009 New York Innovative Theatre Award nomination for Outstanding Production of a Musical) and Theatre Under the Stars/Sam Houston State University; Tell Me (formerly The Chocolate Tree) for The New Jersey Rep, Actors Cabaret of Eugene, and starring Cady Huffman and Christopher Sieber for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Regional credits include: A Little Night Music, I Love You Because, The Complete History of America (abridged), Blithe Spirit, Dracula, Romance/Romance, Violet, The Spitfire Grill and The Full Monty. Upcoming projects: Seussical (TheatreworksUSA), The New Century (Diversionary Theatre) and YANK! (York Theatre Company). Igor is a graduate of the North Carolina School of the Arts and a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC). www.igorgoldin.com

Jeffrey Lodin (Music Director / Vocal Arrangements). Jeffrey’s scores include: Young Abe Lincoln (Theatreworks USA, book/lyrics: John Allen-Promenade Theatre and U.S. Tour in 1994 –1995), Disney’s Doug Live! (Walt Disney World, lyrics: William Squier), Top of the Heap (Gallery Players Production, Oct. 2009, NMTN “Director’s Choice” 07, Global Search for New Musicals 06, book/lyrics: W. Squier) About Face (NAMT 08, book/ lyrics: David Arthur), 100 Years into the Heart (Village Theater 07 Festival of New Musicals, Spirit of Broadway, NYMF 04, book: Richard Vetere, Lyrics: W. Squier), Rebels 1775 (Starlight Theatre, Spirit of Broadway, book: J. Allen, Mana Allen, W. Squier lyrics: W. Squier, J. Allen), Nice People (book/lyrics: Tony Tanner), Naughty Girl (CAP21, book/lyrics: Scott Hayes, co-music: Christopher Seppe). Currently working on Blindsided By A Diaper (book/lyrics: W. Squier). His songs appear on television: P.B.&J. Otter; film: Doug’s First Movie; the International Children’s Festival (lyrics: W. Squier); cd: A Celebration of Life (lyrics: D. Arthur; vocals: Randy Graff & Judy Kuhn). Recent Music Direction credits include the world premieres of Glimmerglass (Cohen/Drachman/Bolt), Love, Inc. (Marc Castle). He has conducted for Chita Rivera and the late great Greg Burge, and played piano for Andy Gibb and Mongo Santamaria, amongst others. He was awarded a 2004 Meet the Composer Grant by the New England Foundation for the Arts. Jeff is a proud member of the Dramatist’s Guild.

THERESA WOZUNK (Producer) is an associate producer of Unlock’d, which won the Audience Award at the 2007 NYMF Festival. She also is president of Wozunk-Hester Music Productions, Inc., which operates Music Together of Park Slope and Musical Bridge of Brooklyn, two family music programs. She is a playwright whose works have been seen at WorkShop Theater Company, The Triad, Don’t Tell Mama, SoHo Playhouse, and the Samuel Becket and Harold Clurman theaters (pre-Theater Row redevelopment!) She is a member of The Dramatists Guild of America, The Broadway League, and Theater Resources Unlimited.