THE GOREE ALL-GIRL STRING BAND Named 2017 Recipient of KSF Artists of Choice USA in Musical Theater

An official selection of the 2017 New York Musical Festival's Next Link Project and produced by Wayward Creatives Entertainment, The Goree All-Girl String Brand has been named as the recipient of this year's Kevin Spacey Foundation (KSF) Artists of Choice USA in Musical Theater.

The Kevin Spacey Foundation (KSF) identifies artists and young people who have a unique voice and creative vision and gives them the training and resources they need to fully express themselves. In doing so, KSF builds a broad community of people who are empowered to give voice to ideas and concepts that enlighten and enhance the human experience. Once such initiative is the Artists of Choice awards which discovers, funds and mentors four UK artists and four USA artists across the disciplines of musical theater, dance, film and plays.

The Goree All-Girl String Band, which makes its world premiere later this month at the New York Musical Festival, features book & lyrics by Michael Bradley, music by Artie Sievers and direction by Ashley Brooke Monroe (Assistant Director of Broadway's Indecent and The Glass Menagerie) and a 13 person cast, comprised of actor-musicians who play various instruments, including guitar, banjo, upright bass, mandolin, accordion, washboard, spoons and the saw!

The all-girl band is led by Lauren Patten of Broadway's Fun Home and the Obie Award-winning play The Wolves. She is joined by Elizabeth Hagstedt (Sweeny Todd, National Tour), Kendra Jo Brook (Snowy Mountain Sisters), Ruby Wolf (Pericles, Delaware Shakespeare Festival), Titus Tompkins ("Younger"), Lauren J. Thomas (Once, National Tour), Robert Ariza (Deaf West's Spring Awakening), Tamra Hayden (Cabaret), Luke Darnell (Million Dollar Quartet, Las Vegas) and Nattalyee Randall (Vocalosity, National Tour), Miche Braden, Chanel Karimkhani, and Nick Plakias.

The Goree All-Girl String Band will feature music direction by Max Gordon, choreography by Brandon Powers, scenic design by Brett J. Banakis, costume design by Tina McCartney and lighting design by Isabella Byrd. General Management by Simpson & Longthorne Theatricals.

Performances of The Goree All-Girl String Band will take place as part of the 2017 New York Musical Festival (NYMF) at New York's Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street, between Ninth & Tenth Avenues). Schedule is as follows: Monday, July 24, 2017 at 8:00 pm; Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 1:00 pm; Wednesday, July 26, 2017 at 5:00 pm; Friday, July 28, 2017 at 9:00 pm; and Saturday, July 29, 2017 at 9:00 pm.

Tickets for The Goree All-Girl Band, as well as the rest of this year's New York Musical Festival selections, can be purchased online at www.nymf.org.

The New York Musical Festival nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theater.

Now in its fourteenth year, the Festival is the premier musical theater event in the world. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theater fans. More than 90 Festival shows have gone on to productions on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters in all 50 states, and in more than 24 countries worldwide. Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form."

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. 2017 NYMF is sponsored by The City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, PRG, TheaterMania, Clear Channel Outdoor and Village Voice, and is supported, in part, 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.

The NYMF PASS is a great way to experience The New York Musical Festival. With a NYMF PASS, you can get into the theater before individual ticket holders. Passes also offer the exclusive ability to book tickets before they go on sale to the public. Individual tickets on sale now.

The 2017 New York Musical Festival will take place July 10 - August 6. For more information, visit www.nymf.org.