The New York Musical Theatre Festival Announces Full Productions

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) has announced the 2013 full productions for its 10th annual festival. This year's Festival will begin July 8th and continue through July 28th. An additional slate of special events, free events, staged readings and several educational panel discussions will be announced shortly.

This year, the Festival's main productions will be housed at the Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater, The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theater, and the Studio Theater at the Pershing Square Signature Center (480 West 42nd Street); and the Pearl Theatre Company Performance Space (555 W. 42nd Street).

Developmental readings will take place at another theater to be announced, and the festival hub - featuring free performances, talkbacks and other special events - will be in the Pershing Square Signature Center's central lobby (which includes the Signature Café and Bookstore).

Isaac Robert Hurwitz, NYMF's co-founder and executive director, will step down from his position following this year's 10th Anniversary season to focus on independent producing projects and his creative consulting business. In addition to providing dramaturgical and producing support to writers and producers of new work, Hurwitz is currently consulting with Twentieth Century Fox regarding the development of stage properties based upon its film library.

Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered more than 320 new musicals - nearly 90 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters in almost every state, and in over 20 countries worldwide. Twenty-three NYMF alumni shows have gone on to enjoy off-Broadway runs, including last season's acclaimed The Other Josh Cohen and the currently-running F#%king Up Everything. Three NYMF shows have gone on to Broadway productions, including Chaplin, [title of show] and the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning Next to Normal.

"It is extremely gratifying to be capping my tenure at NYMF by celebrating our tenth Festival with such an incredible crop of shows and artists," said NYMF Executive Director and Producer Isaac Robert Hurwitz. "I'm grateful to all of the actors, writers, musicians, and other theater professionals who have helped make NYMF far more than we ever imagined it could be when we started ten years ago -- not to mention the extraordinary staff and board in whose hands I know NYMF will continue to grow in its second decade and beyond."

"We are sad to see Isaac leave. He has been the driving force behind NYMF for many years," said Martin Grant, NYMF's chairman of the board. "We wish him all the best in this very exciting new chapter of his career. We have formed a search committee and are actively looking for the next generation of leadership for the organization."

This year's Festival will run July 8th - 28th. Memberships are on sale now and members can book tickets as of May 15. Single tickets will go on sale beginning June 17th. To purchase a membership, please visit www.nymf.org/member.

The Awakening of Angel DeLuna

Book by Judylynn Schmidt; Music by Lee Ellis; Lyrics by Judylynn Schmidt and Lee Ellis

Ollie let the love of his life slip through his fingers and has regretted it ever since. Returning to the DeLuna family circus as a hobo clown, he learns the circus has a smarmy new owner who will stop at nothing to make a quick buck. Can one clown save the circus while keeping his identity a secret? This spectacle with live trapeze acts will remind you why the human spirit is undefeatable and love is worth every risk.

Dizzy Miss Lizzie's Roadside Revue Presents "The Brontës"

Book, Music and Lyrics by Debra Buonaccorsi and Steve McWilliams

Everyone's favorite 19th century literary family gets the rock treatment from Washington DC's hippest theatrical troupe. Secrets, rivalries, drugs and drama abound as conflicted siblings Charlotte, Emily, Anne and Branwell trade Victorian repression for rock-and-roll expression in this raucous show The Washington Post called "Sublime...Delightful musical satire." THE BRONTËS upends everything you thought you knew about the authors of Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights - in the most entertaining way possible!

Feather

Book by Jeremy Culver; Music by Charleene Closshey;

Original songs by Nick Everitt and Liesl Karlsson; Painting by Jeffry Feeger

After a human rights attorney learns her husband, a photojournalist, has been abducted from a child refugee camp, she faces the struggle of a lifetime. Her story comes together in a truly unique multimedia experience, cutting between past and present, stage and the screen, dialogue and song. With a sweeping, emotional score and an artist painting live on stage, this stunning fusion of art, film and music explores the power of imagination and, ultimately, what it means to be human.

Homo The Musical!

Book by Lola Rock-N-Rolla; Music and Lyrics by Gina Volpe

Posing as a suburban housewife, an alien from Planet Homo has infiltrated a religious middle-American town. Will the good people of Pleasant Valley Pines notice before their whole community erupts in chaos and depravity? Chock full of ear-splitting rock-and-roll and kick-ass dancing, HOMO THE MUSICAL! is an offbeat and otherworldly probing of pure camp, cult and pop.

Icarus

Book by Jason Slavick and the LAB Ensemble; Music and Lyrics by Nathan Leigh

Greek mythology meets burlesque, puppetry, and a folk-rock score in the latest piece from acclaimed ensemble Liars and Believers, creators of last year's gritty Festival hit, Le Cabaret Grimm. Minnie's Menagerie, an unconventional Depression-era sideshow, is raking it in with the help of Daedalus's innovative technology. But when Daedalus's son falls in love with Minnie's daughter, the star attraction, their passion threatens to bring it all crashing down.

Legacy Falls

Book by James Burn and Ian Poitier; Music and Lyrics by James Burn

LEGACY FALLS is the sidesplitting new musical that dishes the dirt on soap. Will there be hirings and firings? Will there be backstabbing and bitchiness? Will there be romances and hair-pulling catfights? Will there be a slightly unrealistic onscreen earthquake? Yes...Yes, there will be. Tune in to this tuneful frolic through the on- and off-screen drama of America's favorite daytime soap opera, LEGACY FALLS!

Life Could Be A Dream

Book, Music and Lyrics by Roger Bean

Meet the "Crooning Crabcakes," a boy group hoping for fame and fortune in the Big Whopper Radio 'Dream-Of-A-Lifetime Talent Search.' Trouble comes when Lois, a former Springfield High School Song Leader, arrives to put some polish on the boys. Denny and Wally fall in love, Eugene falls apart, and heartthrob Skip sends the whole situation spinning. Winner of the L.A. Drama Critics Circle and L.A. Weekly 'Best Musical of the Year' Awards, from the creator of "The Marvelous Wonderettes."

Marry Harry

Book by Jennifer Robbins; Music and Lyrics by Dan Martin and Michael Biello

Chef Harry wants to leave his family's failing restaurant but doesn't want to break his dad's heart. Sparks fly when the landlord's daughter, Sherri, sees in Harry the potential man of her dreams -- but then things start moving much too fast. Can Harry stay true to himself without disappointing those he loves? With a healthy helping of humor and just the right amount of spice, MARRY HARRY provides a recipe for finding your path in life.

Mother, Wife and the Complicated Life

Book, Music and Lyrics by Amity Dry

An hilarious and heartwarming look at the juggle of doing it all. Join four best friends as they discover marriage is nothing like the movies, motherhood can push you to your limits and no one makes you laugh like your girlfriends do. Set to a rousing pop score, this is the musical comedy that tells the truth about marriage and motherhood.

That Lady from Maxim's

Book, Music and Lyrics by BRyan Williams

Paris, 1899. After beaucoup champagne at the notorious nightclub, Maxim's, respectable Dr. Petypon wakes to discover a mysterious near-naked woman in his bed. Desperate to conceal this indiscretion from his righteous wife and rich uncle, he finds himself caught in a hilarious maze of mistaken identities, complicated lies, and catapulting chaos, gleefully orchestrated by - mais oui - THAT LADY FROM MAXIM'S!

Volleygirls

Book by Rob Ackerman; Music by Eli Bolin; Lyrics by Sam Forman

Years ago, world-class volleyball player Kim Brindell choked under pressure and became an Olympic joke. Now she's been assigned to coach the Ladyhawks, a team of wide-eyed, misfit, high-school girls who can't seem to win a game. Can Kim overcome her past (and a hardline PTA mom) to help her girls and win it all? With humor, heart, and a contemporary pop-tinged score, VOLLEYGIRLS will bump, set, and spike its way into your heart.