Lonny Price, Chris Cattelli, Marc Bruni and More to Helm NAMT's 2014 Festival Productions Next Month

The National Alliance For Musical Theatre (NAMT) announced today the all-star lineup of directors and musical directors participating in the 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals on Thursday, October 23, 2014 and Friday, October 24, 2014 at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

Beautiful Poison will be directed by David Armstrong (Executive Producer and Artistic Director, The 5th Avenue Theatre), with Ian Eisendrath (A Christmas Story, Madison Square Garden) serving as musical director. Beautiful Poison features music by Brendan Milburn, lyrics by Valerie Vigoda, and a book by Duane Poole.

Cubamor will be directed by Kent Nicholson (9 Circles, Marin Theatre Company), with Jerome Korman (Music Director, National Dance Institute) serving as musical director. Cubamor features a book and lyrics by James D. Sasser and music and lyrics by Charles Vincent Burwell.

Great Wall will be directed by Tony Award winner Chris Gattelli (Broadway's Newsies, South Pacific). Great Wall features music and lyrics by Kevin So, a book by Kevin Merritt, and creative consulting by David Henry Hwang.

Mary Marie will be directed by Daniella Topol (When January Feels Like Summer, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Women's Project Theater). Mary Marie features a book and lyrics by Chana Wise and music by Carl Johnson. A musical director for Mary Marie will be announced at a later date.

The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes will be directed by Tony Award nominee Lonny Price (Broadway's Lady Day At Emerson's Bar and Grill, 110 In The Shade). Andy Einhorn (Broadway's Bullets Over Broadway, R+H Cinderella) will serve as musical director. The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes has a book and lyrics by Christopher Dimond and music by Michael Kooman.

String will be directed by Marc Bruni (Broadway's Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) with Matt Castle (Found, Atlantic Theatre Company) as musical director. String features music and lyrics by Adam Gwon and a book by Sarah Hammond.

Stu For Silverton will be directed by Andrew Russell (Artistic Director, Intiman Theatre). Stu For Silverton has a book by Peter Duchan, music and lyrics by Breedlove, and is based on the story of Stu Rasmussen and the town of Silverton, Oregon. A musical director for Stu For Silverton will be announced at a later date.

How To Break will be directed by Tamilla Woodard (La Ruta, The Working Theatre) with a book by Aaron Jafferis, lyrics by Aaron Jafferis and Rebecca Hart, and music by Rebecca Hart and Yako 440, will be announced shortly. The musical director will be Jon Spurney (Passing Strange).

Further information on each of the selections for the 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals can be found below.

The 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 reading presentation 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.

For the 11th consecutive year, NAMT's Festival of New Musicals will be presented at the premiere Off Broadway facility New World Stages, located at 340 West 50th Street. A limited number of free seats will be available to the public on a standby basis. The public can also receive passes to the Festival through a donation to NAMT. Registration for Industry members is free and now open at www.namt.org/festival.

The 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals is overseen by NAMT New Works Director and Festival Producing Director Branden Huldeen and Festival General Manager Lisa Dozier King.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, founded in 1985, is a national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre. Our mission is to advance musical theatre by nurturing the creation, development, production and presentation of new musicals, and to provide a forum for musical theatre professionals to share resources and exchange information. Our 200 members, located throughout 34 states and abroad, are some of the leading producers of musical theatre in the world and include theatres, presenting organizations, higher education programs and individual producers. Among the 220 musicals launched by NAMT's annual Festival of New Musicals are Thoroughly Modern Millie, Children of Eden, Honk!, The Drowsy Chaperone, Songs for a New World, I Love You Because, Striking 12, Vanities, Ordinary Days and many others, representing 420 writers.

NAMT's Festival of New Musicals is the cornerstone of NAMT's mission to nurture the creation, development and production of new musicals. We present eight musicals in 45-minute presentations before an audience of over 600 industry professionals. In the short run, the Festival's goal is to connect producers with writers, so that their shows can continue their development trajectory. The long-term goal is to expand the musical theatre repertoire, bringing new musical theatre to thousands of audience members around the world. For more information, visit www.namt.org.