MTI Will Make Theatre Now's 10-Minute Musicals Available for Licensing

Theatrical licensor Music Theatre International (MTI) announced an agreement with Theatre Now New York, an artist service organization dedicated to the development of new works, to represent and license 25 short musicals from its collection beginning in early 2021.

The 25 musicals that will join the MTI catalog all began as part of Theatre Now's annual SOUND BITES Festival of 10-Minute Musicals. Now in its seventh year, the Festival showcases eight new musicals by up-and-coming musical theatre writing teams. The licensable versions of the shows will all be around 10-20 minutes in length and will be available for streaming and remote performances. The list of the 10-minute musicals includes:

• A MOST AVERAGE MUSICAL Book & Lyrics by Jonathan Keebler, Music by Bob Kelly, Based on a Screenplay by Talia Berger
• A RELATIVE RELATIONSHIP Book, Music, & Lyrics by Timothy Huang
• ANT AND GRASSHOPPER Book & Lyrics by A.J. Freeman, Music by Dimitri Landrain
• BITTERSWEET LULLABY Book by Will Lacker, Music & Lyrics by Dylan Glatthorn
• BOOK LOVERS Book & Lyrics by Talaura Harms, Music by Jonathan Bauerfeld
• BYSTANDER Book & Lyrics by Ed Levy, Music by Eric Grunin
• COOKIE SOIREE Book & Lyrics by Justin Anthony Long, Music by Ge Enrique, Concept by Jonny Lee Jr.
• COOKING FOR TWO Book & Lyrics by Charlie O'Leary, Music by Karl Hinze
• DEAD FLOWERS Book, Music, & Lyrics by Michael Finke
• DINOSAUR Book, Music, & Lyrics by Zach Spound
• END OF THE LINE Book by Howard Ho, Lyrics by Chris Edgar, Music by Kristen Rea
• FINDING THE WORDS Book & Lyrics by Andy Roninson and Chris Critelli, Music by Andy Roninson
• FRANKLIN PIERCE: DRAGON SLAYER Book & Lyrics by Preston Max Allen, Music by Will Buck
• ON YOUR MARK! Book & Lyrics by Danny K. Bernstein, Music by Aaron Kenny
• PELLETS, CHERRIES, AND LIES: THE PAC MAN STORY Book, Music, & Lyrics by Erik Przytulski
• RUN THIS TOWN Book & Lyrics by Cindy Sideris, Music by Assaf Gleizner
• SUPERHOTS! Book & Lyrics by Blair Bodine, Book & Music by Joel Esher
• THE ALMOST IN-LAWS Book & Lyrics by Greg Edwards, Music by Andy Roninson
• THE ANSWERING MACHINE Book & Lyrics by Kevin Hammonds, Music by Andy Roninson
• THE CHARM Book & Lyrics by Christiana Cole, Music by David Shenton
• THE FACEBOOK FIGHTER Book, Music, & Lyrics by Chris Kerrigan
• THE HIPSTER SISTER Book, Music, & Lyrics by Andy Roninson
• THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS Book, Music, & Lyrics by Chris Kerrigan
• WELCOME TO RIDGINGTON Book & Lyrics by Jordan Silver, Music by Luke Steinhauer
• WHAT'S YOUR WISH? Book, Music, & Lyrics by Thicket & Thistle

MTI's President and CEO, Drew Cohen said, "We are very excited to partner with our friends at Theatre Now to license their collection of 10-minute musicals, all of which premiered at the SOUND BITES Festival. These new works allow us the opportunity to highlight burgeoning writers, particularly at a time when their shows' abbreviated running times and ability to be performed remotely are perfect for the age of social-distancing and beyond."

"Over the past six years of the SOUND BITES Festival, we have been astounded by the diversity and flexibility reflected in the short-form musical. We're thrilled to partner with MTI in bringing these musicals to an expanded audience, where they can surprise, entertain, and inspire," said Thomas Morrissey, Theatre Now's Producing Aristic Director.

For more information about licensing Theatre Now's Collection of short musicals, please visit www.mtishows.com/10-minute-musicals

The 10-Minute Musical: An Anthology from the SOUND BITES Festival

The 25 licensable musicals in the collection are included in the new book The 10-Minute Musical: an Anthology from the SOUND BITES Festival, which is published by Theatre Now. This first ever anthology of 10-minute musicals features works selected from the past six years of the annual SOUND BITES Festival of 10-Minute Musicals. The book is available for purchase at tnny.org/anthology-book.

Special Live-streamed Event

To celebrate the partnership with MTI and the release of the book, and to highlight the artistic value of the 10-minute musical, Theatre Now will be presenting two livestreamed events on November 13th and November 20th at 8pm. Each evening will be hosted by Thomas Morrissey and Colleen Harris and will feature material from the upcoming SOUND BITES 7.0 Festival of 10-Minute Musicals, including new music and interviews with the lyricists and composers. Tickets are free and are available at tnny.org/sound-bites-streaming-live.

About Theatre Now New York

Now entering its eighth year, Theatre Now New York is an artist service organization dedicated to the development, production, publication, and circulation of short and long-form musicals, by providing ongoing support for writers and their work in order to nurture voices and forms that push the boundaries of musical theatre. They bridge the gap between early readings and fully-produced theatrical runs by offering staged and performed developmental productions to pieces that are ready to live on their feet. Marked by a strong and consistent production process, Theatre Now collaborates with artists on intensive story development through song and dialogue, and a focus on each artist's prospective audience, resulting in a personalized development approach that helps to ensure the strength, resonance, and accessibility of each work. Theatre Now produces the annual SOUND BITES Festival of 10-Minute Musicals as well as developmental productions of new works. Their Musical Writers Lab is a community of musical theatre writing teams who meet regularly to work on the development of new musicals through Lab presentations, sharing their process and offering support. Lab members benefit additionally from Theatre Now's mentorship, developmental productions, publishing and licensing.

About Music Theatre International

Music Theatre International (MTI) is one of the world's leading theatrical licensing agencies, granting theatres from around the world the rights to perform the greatest selection of musicals from Broadway and beyond. Founded in 1952 by composer Frank Loesser, and orchestrator Don Walker, MTI is a driving force in advancing musical theatre as a vibrant and engaging art form.

MTI works directly with the composers, lyricists and book writers of these musicals to provide official scripts, musical materials and dynamic theatrical resources to over 70,000 professional, community and school theatres in the US and in over 60 countries worldwide.

MTI is particularly dedicated to educational theatre, and has created special collections to meet the needs of various types of performers and audiences. MTI's Broadway Junior™ shows are 30- and 60-minute musicals for performance by elementary and middle school-aged performers, while MTI's School Editions are musicals annotated for performance by high school students.

MTI maintains its global headquarters in New York City with additional offices in London (MTI Europe) and Melbourne (MTI Australasia).