NAMT Announces Complete Casts and Lineup for Songwriter Showcase; Hosted by de Jesus

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) and Executive Director Kathy Evans announced the directors and casts for the eight musicals being presented at its 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals at New World Stages (340 West 50th St) on Monday, October 20 and Tuesday, October 21, 2008.  Also, announced were the line-up for this year's Songwriter Showcase happening during the Festival.  www.namt.org

SONGWRITER SHOWCASE
Directed by John Simpkins (SPF's The Black Suits)
Co-Hosted by Robin de Jesus (Tony Nominee- In The Heights)—[second co-host will be announced shortly]

Shows featured:

A SUPERHERO, Music & Lyrics by Jonathan Waller, Book by Marty Johnson

ADAM LIVES, by Rob Baumgartner
HAVING IT ALMOST, Music by John Kavanaugh, Book by David Goldsmith & Wendy Perelman, Lyrics by David Goldsmith

HOMEMADE FUSION, by Michael Kooman & Chris Dimond
HOSTAGE SONG- Music & Lyrics by Kyle Jarrow , Stories & Book by Clay McLeod Chapman

PEOPLE ARE WRONG- by Julia Greenberg and Robin Goldwasser
UNLOCK'D-Music by Derek Gregor, Book & Lyrics by Sam Carner
VICTOR WOO - Music & Lyrics by Kevin So, Book by Kevin Merritt

 
Performers will include:  Chris Anderson, David Driver, Raymond J. Lee (Mamma Mia!), Liz McCartney (Mamma Mia!), Sean McCourt (Mary Poppins), Lindsay Mendez (Grease), Patina Miller (Hair), Connie Petruk, Lauren Pritchard (Spring Awakening), Tricia Scott, Christopher Totten 

A TOAST FOR 20!  BENEFIT CONCERT

To commemorate their 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals, NAMT will celebrate with a benefit concert open to the public entitled, A Toast to 20! on Sunday, October 19th.  Tickets are now available to the public for $85 each and will feature Broadway luminaries performing songs from past Festival of New Musicals shows.  The concert will take place at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (at 9th Avenue) from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.  Hosted by Tony Award-winners Bob Martin and Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone, Festival 2004), A Toast to 20! will also feature performances by: Will Chase (High Fidelity), Gavin Creel (Tony Nominee - Thoroughly Modern Millie), Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Tony Nominee - Avenue Q), Ryan Driscoll (Summer of '42), Malcolm Gets (Tony Nominee - Amour), LaChanze (Tony Winner - The Color Purple), Lauren Kennedy (Sunset Boulevard), Lauren Pritchard (Spring Awakening), Robb Sapp (Wicked), Bobby Steggert (110 in the Shade) and more!  Music Direction by Lynne Shankel (Cry-bayb, Company, Altar Boyz).

Ticket prices:  Single Ticket are $85 each

VIP Table** for 4 people: $1,000 donation, Single VIP Ticket**: $300 donation, Single Donation Ticket: $250 donation, NAMT Member Ticket: $150 donation.  VIP and Donation Tickets include the concert, cocktails and hors d'oeuvres; and VIP ticket holders receive reserved seating and complimentary wine during the concert.

Tickets can be purchased by visiting  www.namt.org.

 For the New Musicals Festival, the directors and casts confirmed to date are:

BARNSTORMER                                                                              

Book & Lyrics by Cheryl Davis
Music by Douglas Cohen
Director: Jerry Dixon (original casts of Tick Tick BOOM!, Once on this Island)
Music Director: JoNathan Smith  (Swing!)
Cast:    Kenita Miller- Xanadu
Norm Lewis- The Little Mermaid
Tina Fabrique- Ragtime
Stu James- The Color Purple
C.E. Smith- The Full Monty
Glenn Turner- Five Guys Named Moe
Rema Webb- Lion King

BEATSVILLE                                                                                                           

Music & Lyrics by Wendy Wilf

Book by Glenn Slater

Director: Robert Longbottom- Side Show, Flower Drum Song –Tony Nom. for Choreography

Cast:    Todd Buonopane-  The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Alli Mauzey- Cry Baby
Hilary Gardner
Tommar Wilson- Hairspray, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Music Man
Cameron Barnett
Beth Malone- Ring of Fire
Richard Roland- Thoroughly Modern Millie, Follies, The Scarlett Pimpernel
Stephen DeRosa- Into the Woods, Hairspray
Marla Mindelle
Joe Kenosian
Dan Sherman

 
THE CUBAN AND THE REDHEAD                                                                    

By Robert Bartley and Danny Whitman

Director: Robert Bartley

Music Director: Mark Janas

Cast:    Jenn Colella (Lucy)- High Fidelity
Tony Yazbeck (Desi)- Gypsy
Eliseo Roman- In the Heights
Miguel Cervantes
Eileen Galindo
Michelle Blakely- Annie Get Your Gun
Kirsten Wyatt- Grease, Urinetown, High Fidelity
Jessica Carter
Hattie Davis
Morgan James         
Jay Russell- The Play What I Wrote
Philip D'Amore
Tim Salamandyk
Roland Rusinek- The Phantom of the Opera

 
THE LEGEND OF STAGECOACH MARY                                                                      

By Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore

Director: Christopher Gatelli-  Altar Boyz, South Pacific- Tony Nomination for Choreography
Music Director:  Brad Haak – Mary Poppins & Lestat

CAST:  Danielle Lee Greaves (Mary)- Rent, Hairspray
Madeleine Doherty- The Producers, Les Miserables
Sarah Saltzberg- 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Don't Quit Your Night Job
J. Austin Eyer- The Secret Garden, Curtains
Josh Henry- In The Heights
Steve Kazee- 110 in the Shade, SPAMalot
Jose Llana- Rent, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song
Jason Patrick Sands-A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde
Nick Wyman - A Tale of Two Cities

          
ORDINARY DAYS                                                                                                 

By Adam Gwon
Director: Matt Toronto
Music Director:  Rick Bertone

CAST:  Jared Gertner- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Adam Jacobs- Les Miserables
Kate Shindle- Legally Blonde, Cabaret
Kate Wetherhead- Legally Blonde, Sarah Plain and Tall

 

PAMELA'S FIRST MUSICAL                                                                               

Book by Wendy Wasserstein
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by David Zippel
Director: David Zippel
Music Director:  Kevin Stites- A Tale of Two Cities, Nine

CAST: Lila Coogan (Pamela) -Mary Poppins
Steven Bogardus- Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Falsettos
Karen Ziemba- Curtains, Contact, Chicago, Never Gonna Dance
Lewis Stadlen- The Producers, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Daniel Reichard- Jersey Boys
Dan Bogart- Les Miserables
Dan Petrotta- A Tale of Two Cities
Devin Richards- A Tale of Two Cities, Suessical, The Life
Adam Jacobs- Les Miserables
Deborah Lew- Beauty and the Beast
Allison Blackwell
Carrie A. Johnson
Allison Walla

 
SEE ROCK CITY                                                                                                   

Book & Lyrics by Adam Mathias
Music by Brad Alexander
Director: Kevin Del Aguila (Book for Altar Boyz)
Music Director: Vadim Feichner (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)

CAST:Jill Abromovitz- Junie B. Jones, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
John Jellison- All Shook Up, Anything Goes
Cassie Wooley
David Rossmer- Titanic, Don't Quit Your Night Job
Benjamin Schrader
Wesley Taylor

 
THE YELLOW WOOD                                                                               

Book by Michelle Elliot
Music by Danny Larsen
Lyrics by Elliot and Larsen
Director: Brian Yorkey (Best Actor Tony Award for M. Butterfly)

CAST: Danny Larsen  
Melinda Bass
Randy Blair- The Adding Machine
Bob De Dea   
MaryAnn Hu- South Pacific
Diana Huey
Morgan Weed- Saved
Amy Linden

Admission to the FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS by invitation for industry only.   Invited industry professionals may register on www.namt.org.  A stand by line is open to the general public.   Historically all stand by patrons have been able to see the Festival shows.

Members of the media that wish to attend should contact NAMT press representative Keith Hurd at keithhurdinc@aol.com to obtain festival credentials or 212 589-5433.

Since 1989, NAMT's FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS has introduced theatre producers to more than 200 musicals and 300 writers.  More than three-fourths of these shows have had further development, tours and licensing agreements, leading to thousands of subsequent productions.  Past festival highlights have included the multiple Tony Award winning The Drowsy Chaperone, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Children of Eden, Honk!, Songs for a New World, Summer of '42 and The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin.

The 2008 Festival of New Musicals is produced by NAMT New Works Director, Branden Huldeen.  The eight selected shows, culled from a pool of more than 125 applicants, were selected by the NAMT Festival Committee, comprised of artistic directors and producers from NAMT member organizations.

NAMT is very grateful to the following foundations and government agencies for supporting the mission to nurture the production of new musicals and classics:

The ASCAP Foundation, Disney Theatrical Productions, The Dramatists Guild Fund, Jamie deRoy & friends, Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation, The Mackintosh Foundation, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation, Stacey Mindich, The Shen Family Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation.

The Festival of New Musicals is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art, and by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

 
NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE (NAMT)

Founded in 1985 and based in New York City, The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), is a national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre.  NAMT has presented its annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS since 1989.  The Festival brings together leading theatre producers and writers, with the goal of furthering the development and production of new musicals.  NAMT membership includes not-for-profit and commercial theatres, developmental organizations, universities, and independent producers.  Located throughout 33 states and 6 countries, the 144 member organizations share a commitment to nurture the creation, production, and recognition of new musicals and classics.  Last season, NAMT members cumulatively staged over 23,000 performances attended by over 17 million people and reached revenues of over $510 million.  For more information, visit www.namt.org.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.