The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is proud to announce the six contestants who will move onto Round 2 of NYMF's Next Broadway Sensation competition.
NYMF's Next Broadway Sensation returns for its fifth year and takes place at New World Stages (340 W. 50th Street) Sundays during the Festival (September 26th, October 3rd, and October 10th). Produced by NYMF and sponsored by Sh-k-Boom and TheaterMania in association with New World Stages, this talent competition seeks to find the newest musical theatre star.
The top six contestants are:
Sally Eidman, Rony Lee Goffer,
Brooke Ishibashi,
Jon-Michael Reese,
Aaron Riesebeck, and
Hannah Whitney.
The winner will receive a special solo concert, co-presented by NYMF and Grammy Award-winning producer Sh-K-Boom Records and a private coaching session by renowned vocal coach
Liz Caplan, who will also serve as a mentor on our judges' panel for the entire competition.
"We are thrilled by the talent that has emerged from NYMF's Next Broadway Sensation," said NYMF Executive Director and Producer
Isaac Robert Hurwitz. "The competition has been incredibly stiff and we look forward to the next round on Sunday."
The second round, taking place on October 3rd at 9:45pm, will be hosted by blogger
Randy Rainbow (the self-proclaimed "
Perez Hilton of Broadway"), and the celebrity panel of judges for week #2 will be:
Adam Kantor (actor, Rent),
Jen Bender (resident director, The Lion King),
Carmel Dean (musical director, American Idiot) and
Liz Caplan (vocal coach). This week, the contestants will sing all music by emerging songwriters. Audience members can expect guest performances from
Adam Gwon (Ordinary Days) and
Tituss Burgess (The Little Mermaid, Jersey Boys).
Over three exciting weekly concerts, these ten singers will battle their way to the top and their fate will be decided by audience votes. A panel of industry pros will also be on hand each week to offer feedback and advice. Past celebrity commentators and judges have included
Marc Kudisch,
Jonathan Groff,
Stephanie D'Abruzzo,
Donna Lynne Champlin, and
Tom Kitt. Contestants have gone on to appear in numerous Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, including American Idiot, Hair, West Side Story, South Pacific, Women on the Verge, and many more. This year's competition will be musical directed by
Alexander Rovang and directed by
Eric Louie. Sensation is open to singers aged 18 and over who have Broadway flair but no Broadway credits.
WHERE: New World Stages (340 W. 50th Street)
WHEN: Sept 26, Oct 3, and Oct 10; Doors open at 9:30pm, competition begins at 9:45pm
TICKETS: $10
Now in its seventh 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 their creators to ensure 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 2010 is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group,TheaterMania.com, and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment and is supported by AP-Red.com, Back Stage, Barnes and Noble, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Broadway.TV, Clear Channel Spectacolor, DFD-TV, King Displays, NASDAQ OMX, New World Stages, Next Magazine, PMD Promotions, The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Queerty.com, Season of Savings, Tekserve, Terra Fossil, Thomson Reuters, TheMenEvent.com, Times Square Squared, and Yelp. 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,
Cameron Mackintosh Foundation, The
Jerome Robbins Foundation, The
Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, Spiritus Gladius Foundation, and The Theater League. 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.
NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events are currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org. Single tickets for Festival events are also currently on sale.
For more information, please visit:
www.nymf.org
