Meet the Stars of NYMF: Oliver Thornton of MOSES MAN
By: Nora Dominick Jul. 11, 2015
New York Musical Theatre Festival is in full swing and BroadwayWorld has taken the time to sit down with some of the stars of this years NYMF musicals.
Like any great art form, musical theatre is shaped by the events and philosophies of the day. The strength and vitality of musical theatre lie in its ability to stay fresh and relevant. It was with that idea in mind, ten years ago, that the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) was created - to provide an effective platform to introduce new shows, new perspectives, and new blood into the musical theatre canon.
MEET THE STARS OF NYMF sits down with Oliver Thornton of MOSES MAN
What's your favorite thing about performing as part of NYMF?
In the West End, where I have spent the body of my career, we don't really have anything that compares to NYMF, so it has been wonderful to experience being part of such a creative and important festival. I am passionate about being involved with new work and believe we must be doing everything we can to support new musical theatre writers. After all, they create the future for all theatre actors.
Have you participated in NYMF before? If so, what's your favorite part and what drew you back to the festival?
I have not. I moved to NYC only a year ago and am so pleased to have been cast in Moses Man right off the bat. We did an out of town workshop at The Geva Theatre in Rochester, in preparation for NYMF, and I have loved seeing the piece grow and deepen with each incarnation. We are telling the true story of an Austrian couple fleeing from the Nazi Regime and finding home in America. The epic nature of the story means that the musical needs to be told in as tight a way as possible. NYMF has given the writers the opportunity to separate the wheat from the chaff. It is interesting to see which shows move on from the festival and have a life in regional houses or on Broadway. NYMF gives them the platform for do so.
What other NYMF show are you most intrigued by or excited to see?
In the out of town workshop the actor CJ Eldred played one of the leading roles. He has moved on to another exciting NYMF show called Claudio Quest, so I am really excited to go and support him, as he says the show is something very special.
Tell us about your show/your character?
I play Avi in Moses Man which is a new musical by Deborah Harber and Casey Filiaci. The musical tells the true story of Haber's parents who were an Austrian couple, forced to leave Vienna when the Nazi's took over Austria.
I play Deborah's father, who has been given a fictional name but is still very much based in the real character of the man. Fortunately, Deborah has been able to show me footage of him talking about everything that happens in the musical and so a character has never felt more real to me. I hope I am doing the Haber family proud in the retelling of this story, it is obviously an incredibly personal story and one which, generationally, so many other Jewish families will be able to relate to.
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