NAMT Songwriter Showcase Oct. 3rd - Hosted by Stephen Schwartz

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) has announced the songwriting teams and performers for the Songwriter Showcase on Sunday,October 3rd, as part of its 16th Annual Festival of New Musicals, which will be held at the new DODGER STAGES this coming Sunday and Monday.

Hosted by Stephen Schwartz (composer and lyricist of Pippin, Godspell, and Wicked), the Showcase features selections from Beth Blatt, Jenny Giering and Marsha Norman's Caraboo; Herbert Rawlings Jr., Ty Stephens and Lee Summers' From My Hometown; Amanda Green and Tom Kitt's High Fidelity; Ben Cohn and Sean McDaniel's Owl Creek; Joy Gregory, John Lang, and Gunnar Madsen's The Shaggs: Philosophy of the World; Cheri Coons and Chuck Larkin's River's End; and Stephen Sislen and Ben Winters' SLUT.

Performers at the Songwriter Showcase will include Hunter Foster, Chad Kimball, Kevin Pariseau, Katie Adams, David Josefsberg, Mary Faber, Christy Collier, Rodney Hicks, Kevin R. Free, Andre' Garner, Colby Foytik, Michael Arden and Graham Rowat.

NAMT's Songwriter Showcase is for NAMT members, sponsors, and donors. The core of NAMT's Festival of New Musicals -- the eight new musicals in 45-minute versions -- is for producers of musical theatre. Producers interested in attending the Festival of New Musicals should email festival@namt.net.

NAMT's Festival has introduced nearly 300 writers to the leading producers of musical theatre. The 150 musicals that have appeared in past Festivals have subsequently had hundreds of productions around the world including the Tony Award-winning Thoroughly Modern Millie, Songs for a New World, The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin, Children of Eden and Honk! Last year's Festival launched four new musicals appearing in major theaters across the country— Harold and Maude, Princesses, Two Queens One Castle, and Was.

The mission of NAMT's Festival of New Musicals is to expand the musical theatre repertoire by encouraging the production of new musicals; present works that are diverse in ethnicity, subject matters, style, and concept; discover new work and new voices; and nurture creative writing teams.

The Festival is funded by contributions to the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, a 501 (c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts and by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a Stage agency. The Songwriter Showcase is supported in part by The Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation.

NAMT, founded in 1985, is the only national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre. Its membership includes theatre institutions, universities, and independent producers. Located throughout 33 states and six countries, member companies vary substantially in size and structure; yet all share a commitment to preserve and enhance this uniquely American art form. Last season, NAMT Members cumulatively staged nearly 23,000 performances attended by 17 million people and reached revenues exceeding $510 million. NAMT thanks the following foundations and government agencies for their ongoing support: The American Theatre Wing, The ASCAP Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, The Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation, and The Shubert Foundation.

For more information, visit www.namt.org.