NAMT Announces Selections for Festival of New Musicals

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) has announced the official selections for its 19th Annual Festival of New Musicals to be held at New World Stages (340 West 50th St between 8th & 9th Avenues) on Sunday, October 7 and Monday, October 8, 2007.

"At NAMT's Festival of New Musicals, leading theatre producers from across the world come together for this industry-only event to discover eight new musicals over two days.   Since 1989, the Festival has presented over 200 musicals and 300 writers, and 75% of these shows have found subsequent productions, tours, and licensing agreements as a direct result of the Festival," state press notes.

Of the 8 Festival shows presented in 2006, seven have secured developmental or full productions: The Boys Are Coming Home– is slated for the 2008 season at Chicago's Goodman Theatre; Dangerous Beauty – will have a developmental production at Northwestern University's American Music Theatre Project Spring 2008; Emma – will receive a Full production at TheatreWorks (CA) August 2007; Julian Po– will appear in the Edinburgh International Fringe Festival (Scotland) this Summer  2007; Piece – received a developmental reading at The Lark Play Development Center (NY) Winter 2006 and will be further developed at The Village Theatre (WA); Sunfish – had a roundtable at The Lark Play Development Center (NY) Winter 2006; and Vanities – has secured a Commercial option.

Past Festival highlights include the Tony Award winnersThe Drowsy Chaperone and Thoroughly Modern Millie; off-Broadway successes such as I Love You Because, Songs for A New World, Striking 12, and Summer of '42; and regional hits like Ace, Children Of Eden, Harold and Maude, Honk!, and Meet John Doe.

The selections for the 2007 Festival of New Musicals are:

The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical
Music and Lyrics by Lori Scarlett
Book by Patricia Cotter
"Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical examines a year in the life of the recently dumped Helen Hill.  With her family of friends by her side she encounters: two-stepping twelve-steppers, Paxil popping lawyers, dental dams, grrrl bands, hot girl on girl action, and maybe…just maybe… the girl of her dreams," state press notes.

Casey at the Bat
Music by Gordon Goodwin
Book and Lyrics by Tom Child
"Based on the classic poem, and the book 'Casey On The Loose' by acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford, Casey comes to bat for Mudville, U.S.A. in a big-hearted, small-town tale of humor, love, greed and the competitive spirit to learn that he can be a hero even when he strikes out."

The Chocolate Tree                        
Music by Marshall Pailet
Lyrics by A.D. Penedo
Book by Marshall Pailet and A.D. Penedo
"A remarkable young girl stricken with a grave illness uses her rich fantasy world and indomitable spirit to bring the impossible to life, which takes her family and the audience on a powerful, transforming journey."

The Gypsy King         
Music and Lyrics by Randy Rogel
Book by Randy Rogel and Kirby Ward
"Two penniless entertainers stumble into a small town and land smack dab in the middle of a plot to assassinate the King. When it's discovered that one of them looks exactly like the doomed monarch, things get sticky."

Kingdom       
Music by Ian Williams
Book and Lyrics by Aaron Jafferis
"Inspired by the true stories of current and former Latin Kings, Kingdom chronicles the journey of two kids from the barrio who join the Kings in search of power and respect. When tragedy strikes, a power struggle tears the two friends apart – with devastating results."

The Story of My Life
Music and Lyrics by Neil Bartram
Book by Brian Hill
"The Story of My Life is a two-character musical about Thomas, a writer, and Alvin – lifelong friends, until life sent them in different directions. When suddenly faced with the task of writing Alvin's eulogy, Thomas digs through the cluttered collection of stories in his mind – with Alvin as his guide – to find a way to celebrate his friend's life and understand his untimely death.'

Tinyard Hill
Music by Mark Allen
Book and Lyrics by Thomas M. Newman
"In South Georgia, 1964, a blacksmith and his son are desperate to keep the family's two-hundred year old shop from becoming another 'pioneer' tourist joke.  But as the Vietnam Conflict escalates and a summer romance blossoms, the world grows too large to ignore in this moving story about big love and small-town dreams."

Writing Arthur
Book, Music and Lyrics by David Austin
"Arthur Danby has finally found the perfect woman. Problem is, she's a fictional character in his novel. When a very real woman steps into his life, his worlds collide. Will Arthur fall deeper into the world he's created or allow life to write itself?"

The Festival of New Musicals is funded by contributions to the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, a not-for-profit organization, and 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.

Admission is by invitation only and closed to the general public.

Visit www.namt.org for more information.