MY PERFECT PET Opens at NYMF, 7/27

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) presents a staged reading of MY PERFECT PET. Marlo Hunter, Founder & Artistic Director of Eating Their Words, will direct a cast that includes Ethan Haberfield (Mary Poppins), Rebecca Goldfarb (Godspell 2032), David Foley, Jr. (Shrek, National Tour), Caroline Cahill, and Adrienne Asterita in a staged reading of the new family musical MY PERFECT PET. Daniel Feyer (Arnie the Doughnut) serves as music director, with stage management by Lauren Wong and general management by Gretchen Margaroli. Performances are July 27th at 4:30 p.m. and July 28th at 11:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. as part of the 2012 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

It's almost Cailin's 10th birthday and the one and only thing she really REALLY wants is a puppy. Unfortunately, her mom and dad aren't so sure she's really responsible enough to take care of one. But with schoolwork to do and classes to go to and a little sister hanging around all the time, how can Cailin prove to her parents she's mature enough for her dream birthday gift? A bright and bouncy, light and giggly, tuneful show for the young and young at heart, MY PERFECT PET is KID FRIENDLY, PUPPY APPROVED.

MY PERFECT PET is teaming up with ROCK & RAWHIDE, a not-for-profit organization that aims to increase adoptions and quality of life for dogs and cats in shelters, by providing distraction therapy and noise/stress reduction through the donations of toys, tough chew items, Kongs, Nylabones, bones, rawhides, blankets and more. If a dog is chewing, it's not barking! If a cat is playing, it’s not meowing! Less noise = less stress. In turn, dogs and cats can pass their evaluations at shelters, and show more of their personality, making them more adoptable. We will be collecting donations of toys and tough chew items at each performance of MY PERFECT PET. For more information about Rock & Rawhide, please visit www.rockandrawhide.org.

Jeff Eisenberg (Composer/Lyricist) is an ASCAP Award winning songwriter. He is the creator and founding member of the children's musical performing group, Junior Jam. Jeff, and his singing partners Elayne Kessler and Adrienne Asterita, perform live concerts for 3-8 year olds throughout the tri-state New York area. His four Junior Jam recordings have won NAPPA (National Association of Parenting Publications), Children's Music Web and Kids Music Awards. Jeff's latest CD, Wake Up, was a finalist in Nickelodeon's Parents Picks Awards in 2010, and his song, Happy Pants, was a finalist in The International Songwriting Competition and won a Kids Music Award for Best Song in 2011. Jeff lives in NY and NJ with his wife Eileen and THEIR perfect pet, Cassidy.

Bruce J. Robinson (Librettist) writes mainly for theatre and television. Most recently, his MIA (missing in action) had its world premiere this spring at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. Upcoming, his (SACCO-VANZETTI) VINCE, AL & TEDDY is slated for its premiere next April at Fitchburg State. BYRD’S BOY opened off-Broadway at Primary Stages (produced by Jeffrey Ash and co-produced by Casey Childs and Primary Stages). For the last few years, Bruce participated in the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (Region 1). There, he leads a play writing workshop, directing a student production, and usually hears a reading of one of his plays. Very recently, Colombia-Greene Community College presented a reading of his play AMERICAN WAKE. His comedy RARE INDULGENCE had a reading at the Abingdon Theatre and was a finalist in last year’s O’Neill. Among the TV shows on which he’s worked are Gary Goldberg’s BROOKLYN BRIDGE and Glenn Caron’s SHOWROOM. Specials include ALL THE RIGHT CONNECTIONS for PBS and Bell South. In what seems another life, Bruce was a performer. He was seen in such otherwise reputable places as the Manhattan Theatre Company, Goodspeed, and the Orpheum. Bruce was graduated from Franklin & Marshall College. Happily a New Yorker, he’s even happier to be married to actress/singer/voice-over artist Donna Robinson. For more information on him and his work, see brucejrobinson.com.

Now in its ninth year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and their creators to ensure the continued vitality of one of America's greatest art forms. Hailed as the "Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2012 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Dunkin' Donuts, Production Resource Group, and TheaterMania.com, and is supported by American Eagle Outfitters, Back Stage, BroadwayBox.com, Fox 5/ WNYW-TV, King Displays, Milford Plaza Hotel, NASDAQ OMX, New World Stages, Next Magazine, Paramount Hotel, PMD Promotions, The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Queerty.com, Thomson Reuters, TheMenEvent.com, Times Square Squared, and Yelp. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The BWF Foundation, Con Edison, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer Phinney, The New Musical Development Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by funds from the New York City Theater Subdistrict Council, LDC, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.

NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events, are currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org.