The
New York Musical Theatre Festival has announced the first round of its
2005 programming after having chosen 18 shows to be presented September
12 - October 2,
2005 in Manhattan's Theatre District. This diverse collection of new
musicals will play alongside more than 100 invited
shows, concerts, and other special events still to be announced.
The selected musicals were The Banger's Flopera by Kirk Wood Bromley and John Gideon, But I'm A Cheerleader by Andy Abrams and Bill Augustin, Don Imbroglio by Matt Beresi and Peter Hilliard, Isabelle and the Pretty-Ugly Spell by Steven Feisher and Joan Ross Sorkin, It Came From Beyondby Cornell Christianson, Stephen Michael Schwartz and Marman Thalheimer, Ivory Joe Cole by Kelly Ward and Michael Tavera and Steven Santoro, The Mistress Cycle by Beth Blatt and Jenny Giering, Monica! The Musical by Adam Blau, Daniel Blau, & Tracie Potochnik, No Boundaries by Liz Oliver, Orphan Train by L.E. McCullough, Michael Barry Greer and
Doug Katsaros, Plane Crazy by Suzy Conn, The Shaggs: Philosophy of the
World by Joy Gregory, John Langs and Gunnar Madsen,Tom Jones by Paul Leigh, Geroge Stiles, Daniel D. Brambilla and Vera Guerin, Uncle Jed's Barbershop by David Wohl, Kenneth Grimes and Susan Einhorn, The Unknown by Janet Allard, Jean Randich, and Shane Rettig, Wild Women of Planet Wongo by Steve Mackes, David Ogrin and Ben Budick, Yank! by David and Joseph Zellnik, and You Might As Well Live by Norman Mathews and (you guessed it) Dorothy Parker.
The NYMF selection committee reviewed 400 scripts this year--nearly
double last year's submissions. This year's jury included Rob Ashford
(Tony-winning choreographer for Thoroughly Modern Millie), Thomas Cott (former artistic director of
Musical Theater Works), Joanna Gleason (Tony-winner for Into the Woods,
Tony-nominated for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Kevin McCollum (Producer
of Avenue Q and Rent), Susan H. Schulman (Director of Little Women, The Secret Garden and The Sound of Music), and Jack Viertel (Jujamcyn
Theaters Creative Director, Encores! Artistic Director).
Last year, more than 20% of the shows were optioned for commercial
productions - including Altar Boyz (2005 Outer Critics Circle Award)
and Stephen Schwartz's Captain Louie (currently at the York Theater),
as well as the forthcoming commercial productions of Title of Show, Shout!, and The Great American Trailer Park Musical.For more information on the winning musicals and the New York Musical Theatre Festival, visit www.nymf.org
