NYMF Announces Next Round Of 2011 Producitons

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the next round of invited musical productions, a developmental reading series and special events for their eighth annual festival. This year's Festival will begin September 26th and continue through October 16th. A breakdown of newly added performances for this year follows.

Newly-added full productions include: The Big Bank; Crazy, Just Like Me; Ghostlight; Greenwood; and Kissless.

Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered more than 270 new musicals - more than 60 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters and in almost every state and in 16 countries worldwide. NYMF alum Next to Normal opened on Broadway last year, where it won 3 Tony Awards (along with 8 other nominations) and was awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize. The Broadway production of NYMF alum [title of show] earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. NYMF 2004 hit Altar Boyz played well over 1,500 performances Off-Broadway and spawned two National Tours.

"We are thrilled with this next round of invited musicals as well as this year's readings and special events," said NYMF Executive Director and Producer Isaac Robert Hurwitz. "It is important for us to stretch ourselves creatively in order to produce the best Festival possible and we think this year's offerings are fun, fascinating and diverse. Giving a voIce To a new generation of musical theatre writers has always been a goal of ours, and we continue to be overwhelmed by the support of the theater community."

This year's Festival will run September 26th through October 16th. Memberships are on sale now and members can start booking tickets on August 1st. Single tickets will go on sale beginning September 1st. To purchase a membership, visit www.nymf.org/member.

NYMF 2011 FULL PRODUCTIONS

The Big Bank
Book by Daniel Seligmann
Lyrics by Jacob and Daniel Seligmann
Music by Jacob Seligmann
The Big Bank has an insatiable appetite for foreclosure. But its rising star, Stuart Stevens, has lost his passion for repossession and is falling in love with Iris, the owner of a flower shop who has recently defaulted on her mortgage. Meanwhile, a radical environmentalist and his precocious 11-year-old daughter, Parsley, set out to bring down the bank by any means necessary...

Crazy, Just Like Me
Book by Drew Gasparini and Louis Sacco
Music and Lyrics by Drew Gasparini
Directed by Stephen Augusto
Best friends since diapers, Simon and Mike hit turbulence when personal epiphanies promise to change their relationship forever. As the newly-engaged Mike faces new responsibilities, Simon endures an awkward blind date and a string of therapy sessions before experiencing a revelation of his own. A musical comedy about friendship and discovery, Crazy, Just Like Me shows just how crazy love can be - especially when you're in love with your best friend.

Ghostlight
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Matthew Martin and Tim Realbuto
Directed by Matthew Martin and Tim Realbuto
According to backstage lore, the ghost of a Ziegfeld Follies star haunts the New Amsterdam Theatre. Ghostlight excavates the true story of Olive Thomas, a small-town girl who rises to headline alongside Fanny Brice. Seduced by the decadent world of the theater, Olive stumbles into a secret affair, an unfulfilling Hollywood marriage, and a downward spiral into drugs and alcohol. An homage to Broadway's Golden Age, Ghostlight captures the glamorous and tragic lives of those who changed the face of the American musical forever.

Greenwood
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Tor Hyams and Adam LeBow
Directed by Paul Stancato
Brimming with hilarity and heart, Greenwood is the story of long-lost performing arts camp friends who reconnect decades later through social networking. Though adulthood has led them far from each other and even further from their true selves, the milestone anniversary of a special summer reunites them unexpectedly. Their past and present selves come crashing together and sparks fly, illuminating the way to the future.

Kissless
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Chance McClain
An awkward misfit is forced to live with an uber-jock and his quirky family over summer break. An inconvenient love develops, threatening the rigid social structure of Forest Glen High School. Kissless's score bounces from pop to rock to traditional Broadway to country ... with a little Glee glitter on top. This production features a cast of Texas teenagers, descending upon the Big Apple with stars in their eyes, just enough money for a fake ID and an "I Heart NY" tattoo, and every intention of rocking your world.

SPECIAL EVENTS

BALLS!...the Musical?!?
Book and Lyrics by Bret Carr, Mick Bonde, Brandon Ellis, Michael "Tuba" McKinsey, and Nick Verina
Music by various composers
Take an unruly quintet of testosterone-laden performers and a brilliant talent on the piano, add in the reinterpretation of a few old musical theater "chestnuts," and POW! You get a hilarious hour and a half of entertainment! Bridged with heartfelt moments, Balls unabashedly celebrates its own inappropriateness. It's aparody show from a totally new vantage!  

Blanche: The Bittersweet Life of a Wild Prairie Dame
Book and Lyrics by Onalea Gilbertson
Music by Onalea Gilbertson, Jonathan Lewis, and Morag Northey
Blanche is set in a dusty sitting room in the far corner of a 93-year-old woman's mind. The songs are poetic family movies inspired by the indomitable spirit of a woman who survived the Great Depression, the Second World War and tragic lost love. Told through the eyes of her granddaughter with piano, violin, cello and soundscape; this exquisitely poignant new musical is a meditation on memory - If we don't tell their stories all will be forgotten...

Gatsby: The Songs in Concert
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Music by Lee Pockriss
Lyrics by Carolyn Leigh
Inspired by the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Directed by Ben West
UnsungMusicalsCo. Inc. presents the world premiere of the original score from Gatsby. Written by Tony Award winner Hugh Wheeler, Grammy Award nominee Lee Pockriss and Tony Award nominee Carolyn Leigh, the unproduced musical adaptation was announced to open on Broadway in spring 1970 but never came to fruition. This world premiere concert of Gatsby will feature the rich, jazz-infused score written for F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic roaring '20s tale of passion, decadence and desire.

Ma Femme, Ma Blonde, et Ma Roulotte
Book by Betsy Kelso
Music and Lyrics by David Nehls
Translation by Stephen Pietrantoni, David Laurin and Patrick Olafson
Directed by Stephen Pietrantoni
Ma Femme, Ma Blonde et Ma Roulotte (literally "My Wife, My Girlfriend and My Trailer") is The Great American Trailer Park Musical (first launched at NYMF ‘04) with a special Canadian twist. Adapted into the French heard on the streets of Montreal, the show retains the hilarious essence of its original American tale of a sordid affair between an exotic dancer and a married toll collector. This Quebecois take will have you laughing and shouting "Tabarnak!" before you know it!

Step Show
Written and choreographed by Maxine Lyle
Directed by Martin Damien Wilkins
Step Show combines the thunderous beats of African American step dance and spoken word to tell one man's quest to find his voIce Through rhythm. He journeys beyond his community to fill his inner silence, but he realizes that his new life comes at a sacrifice. Caught in a battle between the rhythms of two worlds, he is force to uncover the legacy of the beats to finally gain a sense of belonging.

Tempest Toss'd
Conceived by Sarah Rosenberg and Luis Reyes Cardenas
Adaptation by Sarah Rosenberg
Music and Lyrics by Eric Luke and William Shakespeare
Fresh from their film debut in "Shakespeare High," the students of Los Angeles's PUC schools are here to help you conquer your "Shakesfear" with their rollicking musical adaptation of The Tempest! Full of magic, romance, and revenge, this interactive adventure mixes Frankie and Annette-style beach party songs with the Bard's original text. This surfboard and sun interpretation is a perfect intro to Shakespeare for kids and offers an educational blast for the entire family!

READINGS

Huckleberry Haywood, a spunk rock musical
Book by Stephen Tyler Davis
Additional Story by Kristine Bogan, Abby Burke, Renee McCurry and Heather Shields
Music by Taylor Bridges
Lyrics by Stephen Tyler Davis and Taylor Bridges
Huckleberry Haywood is tired of waiting. Leaving his family legacy in the dust of Haywood County, Alabama, he sets his sights on bigger things: New York, new freedom, new friends and an acting career. Instead, he finds himself at a singing diner on Broadway, serving disco burgers in roller skates. Forced to confront his personal demons, Huck must discover who he is, where's he's from, and who he's waiting to become.

Many Happy Returns
Book by Carey Ramos, based on an original story by Carey Ramos and Catrina Bentley
Music and Lyrics by Lamont Dozier
A respectable New York lawyer and a British free spirit have one thing in common: a flair for the unexpected. As the pair marry and embark upon a life together, they chase the element of surprise from the galleries in London to the museums of New York. Many Happy Returns is a delightful musical romp about a woman who steals for love and a man who will do almost anything to keep her out of jail.

Marry Me
Book by Daniel Korb
Lyrics by Daniel Korb and Darren Korb
Music by Darren Korb
This new musical bromance by the Korb Brothers is an outrageous comedy with a lot of heart about two straight best friends who marry each other for the financial benefits. But their faux gay marriage turns to all out war when one inherits a small fortune and the other refuses to give him a divorce.

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Now in its eighth year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and ensuring their creators the continued vitality of one of America's greatest art forms. Hailed as the "Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2011 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The Broadway League, The BWF Foundation, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Ariel Phinney, The Charlie & Jane Fink Charitable Fund, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. NYMF 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 more information, please visit: www.nymf.org