NYMF Announces 15 Musicals Invited To Join 12 Previously Announced Next Link Project Productions

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) today announces the 15 musicals that have been invited by NYMF to be presented with the 12 previously announced Next Link Project productions. NYMF will also continue its popular Dance Series with three new works still to be announced. This year's festival will be presented September 28- October 15. A complete list of shows and creative are below.

NYMF alumni returning in 2009 include Joe Drymala (White Noise NYMF 2006, slated for Broadway this season), among others.

Titles for 2009's Invited Work Series include Anjou: A Tale of Horror, Cross That River, The Cure, F#@king Up Everything, Gay Bride of Frankenstein, The Happy Embalmer, Hurricane, Judas and Me, The Last Smoker in America, Lighter, Lorenzo, Max Understood, Street Lights, Under Fire, Whatever Man.

Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered more than 175 new musicals - more than 50 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters and in almost every state and in 12 countries worldwide. NYMF 2004 hit Altar Boyz has played well over 1,800 performances Off-Broadway and spawned two National Tours; fellow NYMF alum [title of show] recently played on Broadway (Tony Award nomination, Best Book of a Musical); Next to Normal opened on Broadway, winning 3 Tony Awards of its 11 nominations; Rooms recently ran Off-Broadway where it was nominated for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical by the Outer Critics Circle; and My Vaudeville Man ran off-Broadway, and garnered two Drama Desk and two Lucille Lortel Award nominations.

Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF exists to revitalize one of America's greatest art forms by discovering, supporting and promoting new musical theater artists, producers, and projects, and by introducing a diverse audience to the vibrancy of contemporary musical theater. Widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery, NYMF is the flagship program of The National Music Theater Network, 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 City Department of Cultural Affairs and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. For additional information, please visit www.nymf.org.

Festival tickets will go on sale to the public on September 1 but memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early booking & seating, are currently available for purchase by calling the NYMF Development Office at 212-664-0979, ext. 12. For more information about NYMF memberships, please visit www.nymf.org.

 

Invited Productions

 

Anjou: A Tale of Horror

Book, Music and Lyrics by Guillermo Mendez and Lupita Sandoval

Catalina de' Medici, queen of France, engages in bloody crimes and inexpressible cruelties against her own people in her quest to enthrone her son, Henry d'Anjou. Politics and passion are interwoven throughout one of history's most sordid events in this electrifying and magnificent musical tale of horror. Sixteenth-century France comes to life in a modern-day Mexican Pop Opera!

 

Cross That River
Music, Lyrics and Story by Allan Harris; Book by Andrew Carl Wilk

The unsettled West of the 1860's provides a new life and new dreams for Blue, a run-away slave, who escapes to Texas to become one of America's first Black Cowboys. This compelling tale of freedom blends old-fashioned storytelling with an infectious score that ranges from country and bluegrass to soul, blues and rock gospel in a sometimes tragic, sometimes humorous chronicle of hardship and enduring perseverance.

 

The Cure
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Mark Weiser

Two friends set out for a night of revelry and stumble across the world's last surviving coven of vampires. Offered the chance to live forever, one man is seduced while the other barely escapes with his life, setting in motion a fight for survival that threatens to bring down an entire city. A
rock and roll fable that lives at the crossroads of humanity and immortality

 

F#@KING UP EVERYTHING

Book by Sam Forman and David Eric Davis; Music and Lyrics by David Eric Davis

Can Christian Mohammed Schwartzelberg stay true to himself and still get the girl? Or will he lose her to the bad-ass rocker? Set against the backdrop of Brooklyn's indie music scene with a gallery of hipsters, stoners, artists, cougars, songwriters and puppeteers, F#@KING UP EVERYTHING is a rock musical comedy with heart. And tattoos.

 

Gay Bride of Frankenstein
Book by Dane E. Leeman and Billy Butler; Music and Lyrics by Billy Butler

A graphic novel comes alive on stage when Edna, Chloe, Harry and Thad stumble into a night of rock music that can raise the dead! Will the girl get the girl? Never has there been a Halloween love story like this with mystery, magic and a cartoon caper that will scare you silly.

 

The Happy Embalmer

Book, Music and Lyrics by Mark Noonan and Nick Oddy

Edward Nando is an embalmer with an extraordinary talent: he can make the dead look great! But when bodies start returning to life, Edward is propelled into a madcap adventure that takes him from Texas to Tibet and beyond. Part rock show, part slapstick comedy, all awesome, The Happy Embalmer is a musical spectaculero about loneliness, death, celebrity, and love. Happiness is everywhere, but to find it, sometimes you've got to look around.

 

Hurricane

Book by Michael Holland and Eric Bernat; Music and Lyrics by Michael Holland

Napatree, Rhode Island, 1938: As the tourist season comes to a close, a young meteorologist's unconventional prediction of impending disaster goes unheeded by his superiors, resulting in one of New England's greatest natural catastrophes. With a score by award-winning songwriter Michael Holland which incorporates elements of Depression-era pop, folk opera, and contemporary song, this epic musical portrait captures an all-but-forgotten moment in American history, one that ultimately emerges as a testament to hope, endurance, rebirth, and survival.

 

Judas and Me
Book and Lyrics by Chad Beguelin; Music by Matthew Sklar

It's tough keeping up with the Joneses when your neighbor's kid is the Messiah. Consumed by jealousy, Rheba Iscariot pushes her son Judas to be better than Jesus... and we all know how well that turns out. A new musical comedy by the Tony-nominated writing team of Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar, Judas and Me is a hilarious look at life with the ultimate biblical stage mom.

 

The Last Smoker in America

Book and Lyrics by Bill Russell; Music by Peter Melnick

In a world where smoking has recently been outlawed, Pam is having an impossible time trying to quit. Her husband Ernie dreams of being a rock star and relentlessly practices his electric guitar in the basement. Their teenage son Jimmy listens to so much rap music he's convinced he's black. Their nosy, anti-smoking zealot neighbor Phyllis lurks around trying to catch transgressors mid-puff. Will Pam kick the habit or fight for the right to light up as The Last Smoker in America?

 

Lighter

Book, Music and Lyrics by Monica Bauer

What would YOU sacrifice to get a killer body? Two diet-crossed lovers, Connie and Stevie, break up when Connie is humiliated searching for a wedding dress. Leaving her chubby would-be-hubby, she becomes a national singing weight-loss sensation on satanic Doctor Dan's show, American Weight Loss Idol. With the help of his nutty friends, can Stevie save Connie before she becomes the ultimate Skinny Bitch? A love story with a plus-size heart.

 

Lorenzo

Music by Judd Woldin; Lyrics by Richard Engquist;

Book by Judd Woldin and Richard Engquist

Lorenzo DaPonte, libertine and librettist, was driven out of Venice by furious husbands, fled Vienna to escape a furious emperor, and snuck out of London to avoid furious creditors. His spirited rise to fame and subsequent freefall from grace is the stuff of operatic legend. An epic tale befitting Mozart's most famous collaborator and the true love that saved him in the end.

 

Max Understood

Book by Nancy Carlin; Music by Michael Rasbury;

Lyrics by Nancy Carlin and Michael Rasbury

After Max escapes the apartment that he shares with his loving but overwhelmed parents, his world will never be the same again. This innovative "sound-scaped" musical is the transformative odyssey of a 7-year old autistic boy, exploring how the need to communicate can bridge an unintelligible chasm. Paving the way is a leaf-blowing philosopher, a string theorist, Pegasus, a mermaid, and all the presidents of the United States.

 

Street Lights

Book, Music and Lyrics by Joe Drymala

Monique is going to be the next Alicia Keys. Her brother is on track to be bigger than Thurgood Marshall. But none of this matters when their world is filled with violence, apathy, and broken promises. Can they keep faith when there's no reason for hope? From writer/composer Joe Drymala and director Ryan J. Davis, the creators of the Broadway-bound 2006 NYMF hit White Noise, comes Street Lights, mixing pop, R&B and hip-hop to crank up the volume on the voice of a new generation saying yes, we can.

 

Under Fire

Book and Lyrics by Barry Harman; Music by Grant Sturiale

Set in the late 1970s during the bloody revolution in El Mirador, a Central American country lies

under the heel of the ruthless dictator Tacho. Russell Price, a young American photojournalist, is swept up in the maelstrom and embarks on a search for the mysterious rebel leader Rafael-whom no one has ever photographed. As Price makes his way into the heart of darkness, he encounters people working on both sides of the struggle, all with different and shadowy agendas...

 

Whatever Man

Book, Music and Lyrics by Benjamin Strouse

Charlie Weiss, an un-lovable loser, is stuck in his miserable life. But everything changes after Anna, his strong-willed girlfriend, forces him into a self-help group where Charlie encounters disturbed superheroes desperate to stick him with their troubles. When their petty squabbles escalate, will Charlie choose to save the world, his relationship or himself? Whatever Man.

 

Previously Announced Next Link Project Shows

 

Academy

Book, Music and Lyrics by John Mercurio

Conceived and Developed by Andrew Kato

At St. Edward's Academy, two seniors make a harmless bet on whether they can influence an unsuspecting freshman to break a few rules to succeed. But when the transaction goes recklessly out of control, the boys become entangled in a fight for their own academic and personal survival. Inspired by Goethe's Faust, Academy is a pop chamber musical about boys learning to become men-and remaining true to themselves.

 

All Fall Down

Book by Greg Turner; Music and Lyrics by Selda Sahin

Golden boy Ben Little is embarking on his next great adventure: college. Everything comes crashing down, however, when he inexplicably jumps from the window of his sixth story dorm room. Astonishingly surviving the fall, Ben returns home-where nobody will talk about what happened or ask questions that might tear apart their picture-perfect world.

 

Fantasy Football: The Musical?

Book, Music and Lyrics by David Ingber

September 1991, New York City. An unemployed stats geek and a small-time bookie realize that their passion for sports is keeping them from maintaining a job or a girlfriend. Combining forces, they set out to create the ultimate sports fan experience-and, in the process, pull their lives together-in this "bromantic comedy" of a musical.

 

Fat Camp

Book by Randy Blair and Timothy Michael Drucker; Music by Matthew roi Berger; Lyrics by Randy Blair

Nothing is going to make rock-and-roll rebel Robert Grisetti stay at fat camp this summer. That is, except for one ex-Navy Seal father, two suspiciously cheery camp counselors, and a 12-foot barbed wire fence. Visit Camp Overton, a weight loss retreat for hefty teenagers, as secrets, sex, S'mores, and self-image collide in this new musical comedy exploring the trials and tribulations of being "the fat kid."

 

Marrying Meg

Book, Music and Lyrics by Mark Robertson

Based on the play The Lass wi the Muckle Mou by Alexander Reid

It's 1603 and renowned minstrel Thomas the Rhymer has set out to write his masterpiece-a heroic ballad of mortal derring-do. But when he is cursed by the Queen of Elfland with a tongue (and a quill) that cannot lie, and confronted with a world that refuses to play by storybook rules, Thomas's heroic masterpiece seems determined to remain unwritten in this rollicking Scottish musical comedy.

 

Mo Faya

Book and Music by Eric Wainaina

Additional music by Joshua Mwai, Morris Otis Omollo and Helen Akoth Mtawali

DJ Lwanda's voice rings out daily on local radio, leading and inspiring the Nairobi community of Kwa Maji. But Anna Mali, an avaricious real estate diva, craves the land beneath their slum. She seduces the fiery young DJ away with a job at a top nationwide station, and organizes a violent campaign to terrorize the people of Kwa Maji. When the government and media turn a blind eye to the decapitated bodies in the streets, DJ Lwanda must return home to expose the truth. But at what cost?

 

My Illustrious Wasteland

Book, Music and Lyrics by Tod Kimbro

Movie stars are sainted, anti-depressants are mandatory, and a tiny computer resides in every good citizen's brain. Equal parts sci-fi epic, social satire, and high-energy rock show, My Illustrious Wasteland is an exhilarating ride through a wildly imagined future America. Watch as virtual lovers Mogs and Sunny encounter ghoulish tabloid reporters, pushy pop-up windows, terrorist hippies, drug-pushing clergy, and a ruthless Hollywood bad-boy President who presides over his perpetually distracted public.

 

Open the Dark Door

Book, Music and Lyrics by David Lefort Nugent

When the local executioner's son, Skip, falls in love with the rebellious Luna, he and the other upstanding residents of Mortland, USA are shattered by a crisis of faith. Dangerous family secrets and festive beheadings are the norm in this haunting and darkly comic indie-rock musical examining a town crippled by fear and troubled by its past.

 

Plagued

Book and Lyrics by Vynnie Meli; Music by Casey L. Filiaci

Cinderella's daughter Dusty just wants to study science and cure the Plague with the help of Scoop, a flirtatious chronicler, but her grandmother the Queen wants to marry her off to a rich old prince instead. Odds are against Dusty and Scoop, while Cinderella and Prince Charming fight the odds to stay in love. Will a fairy godmother come out of retirement to show them the way out of the Dark Ages?

 

Rainbow Around the Sun

Music and lyrics by Matthew Alvin Brown; Book and additional lyrics by Tom Stuart

Local rock hero Zachary Blasto struggles with personal demons as he relives both painful and joyous memories during a radio retrospective of his career. Based on the album and film of the same name, prog-rock concert meets musical theatre in this fast-paced dissection of broken hearts, life through a liquor bottle, and rebirth through loss.

 

Seeing Stars

Book by Shelley McPherson; Music by Don Breithaupt; Lyrics by Jeff Breithaupt

Eddie "Bare Knuckles" McSorley and "Gentleman" Joe Sullivan are two rival boxers in love with Jean, a feisty reporter, in this tough and tender original musical set in Hell's Kitchen in the '30s. A black-and-blue romance with a bruising climax and a colorful cast of pugs, thugs, and dames, Seeing Stars explores the world of "boys being boys" and the women who love them.

The Toymaker

Book, Music and Lyrics by Bryan Putnam

When Sarah's marriage falls apart after two failed pregnancies, stories of a childless toy maker of the past propel her on a desperate search that spans the globe and time. In this tale of enduring passion and hope, Sarah's quest to find a missing toy and solve the mysteries of a village destroyed by war lead her to a destiny of fulfillment she once thought impossible.