Tickets on Sale for FREEDOM RIDERS: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MUSICAL at NYMF

The Award winning FREEDOM RIDERS: The Civil Rights Musical will begin performances at the New York Musical Festival on August 1, 2017.

The musical tells the story of the real-life Freedom Riders who challenged the status quo of the 1960's by riding interstate buses in mixed racial groups through the South challenging local laws and customs that enforced segregation. Based on the lives of Diane Nash, Congressman John Lewis, and the other riders, Freedom Riders is a soaring portrait of American race relations and a testament to the power of nonviolent direct action in uncovering injustice.

Freedom Riders features a book by Richard Allen and music and lyrics by Allen and Taran Gray. Allen works in Hollywood as a feature film and television writer, director, and producer. Gray is a songwriter and music producer who has worked with artists across multiple labels including EPIC, Motown, Crissy Field Records, and Universal. Allen and Gray previously created Second Star, a musical television show for Disney XD.

Watch a preview for the show below!

Performances will be held on August 1, 2017 at 8PM, August 3, 2017 at 9PM, August 4, 2017 at 1PM & 5PM & August 5, 2017 at 9PM. Tickets can be purchased at www.nymf.org . Freedom Riders will be performed at the The Acorn Theatre at Theatre Row (410 W. 42nd Street New York, NY. 10036). Visit www.freedomridersmusical.com for more about the production.

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 are on sale June 15!

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