Photo Coverage: NYMF Hosts 'Best of Fest' Gala Concert

On Monday, June 21, New York Musical Theatre Festival hosted their 'Best of Fest' Gala. The event celebrated NYMF alumni and introduced some of the new projects NYMF alums are working on now. BroadwayWorld was on hand to capture the evening.

Participants included Christiane Noll (Ragtime), Kerry Butler (Rock of Ages, Xanadu), Hunter Foster (Million Dollar Quartet), Stephanie J. Block (WICKED, 9 to 5), Christopher Sieber (Shrek, Spamalot), Krysta Rodriguez (The Addams Family, In The Heights), Tom Kitt (Next To Normal, American Idiot), Jennifer Cody (Shrek, The Pajama Game), Curtis Holbrook (West Side Story, Xanadu), Alex Brightman (WICKED), Matt Doyle (Spring Awakening), Jamie LaVerdiere (The Producers), Leo Ash Evens (West Side Story 50th Anniversary Tour), Brian Gonzales (Shrek) Katrina Rose Dideriksen (Jerry Springer, The Opera), D.B Bonds (Legally Blonde), Vanessa Ray (Hair, "As The World Turns"), Patti Murin (Xanadu), and the cast of the NYMF musical Academy: Alex Wyse, Corey Boardman, Wilson Bridges, Antonio Addeo, Matthew F. Johnson, Andy Mientus and Aaron Riesebeck..

Now entering its seventh year, The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theater culture by discovering and promoting new musical theater artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience.

Since its inception in 2004, NYMF has premiered more than 200 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 more than a dozen countries worldwide. Two of the ten new musicals to open on Broadway in the 2009 season were NYMF alums, including [title of show], which enjoyed an acclaimed run at the Lyceum Theater, Next to Normal, which won three Tony awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This year's Festival will run September 28th through October 18th.

For more information on NYMF, visit www.nymf.org.

Photo Credit: Monica Simoes