INVISIBLE, CAROLINE AND GEORGE and MORALITY PLAY Top New Musicals Inc.'s 2015 Search for New Musicals

Winners of the prestigious international Search for New Musicals were announced today at New Musicals Inc. in Los Angeles.

First Prize goes to INVISIBLE with book by David Hollingsworth, and music & lyrics by David Orris.

Second Prize goes to CAROLINE AND GEORGE by Michael Finke.

Third Prize goes to MORALITY PLAY with book & lyrics by Janet Burroway, and music by Matthew M. Kiedrowski and Curtis Powell.

The Search for New Musicals accepts entrants from around the globe; winners receive awards worth up to $25,000 in workshop productions, concert readings, feedback, and developmental support.

"We are thrilled to sponsor the Search," says Elise Dewsberry, Artistic Director of NMI. "We love seeing what writers are creating; and of course our mission is to nurture the folks who are writing musicals, so announcing the winners of the Search is one of my favorite things to do all year!"

INVISIBLE is the story of high school nerds Griff and Kemper, who are determined to get popular enough to take the hot girls to the prom, despite warnings from their under-appreciated goth friend Hemlock. When their scientific experiment goes horribly wrong, Griff needs to figure out who is really standing by him, and whether or not being popular is all its cracked up to be.

CAROLINE AND GEORGE is an outrageous musical comedy that follows the trials and tribulations of the not-so-happy couple, Caroline of Brunswick and the future King George IV (who were married, reluctantly, in 1795), as they push through their marriage, affairs, addictions, flatulence, and separations on their journey towards the crown of England ... ultimately changing a nation.

MORALITY PLAY takes place in the England of the 14th century, a bitter winter in a time of plague: A traveling troupe of actors takes on a runaway priest. They come to a town where a young boy has been murdered and a beautiful deaf woman condemned for it. They can't get an audience - because who wants a Morality Play when there's real mystery afoot? How can they get back their audience except by Docudrama? In the process of inventing their murder story, they uncover the truth of a plot that mixes procurement, abuse, a Monk confessor and a powerful Duke.

INVISIBLE, which was the third prize winner in the 2014 Search, will receive a developmental production in the 2015/16 season. Caroline and George, written by 2014 New Voice Project finalist Michael Finke, will receive a workshop with the Academy Repertory Company, and a staff evaluation. Morality Play will receive a Detailed Analysis from an NMI dramaturge.

NMI is committed to an ongoing search to find and nurture promising new musical theatre. If you've written a musical, and you would like some honest, constructive, detailed feedback on how to make your musical better, you can submit your musical to NMI for dramaturgical feedback at levels from evaluation to analysis to table reading to workshop to concert reading.

Past winners of the Search have included: The Water by Jeff Hylton, Tim Werenko, and Georgia Stitt (2008); Greenbrier Ghost by Susan Murray and Clay Zambo (2009); Gilbert & Sullivan on Wall Street by Charles Veley and Arthur Sullivan (2010); Emerald by Chris Burgess and Denise Wright (2011); Mad Bomber by Charles Monagan and Richard deRosa (2012); It Happened in Roswell by Terrence Atkins and Jeffery Lyle Segal (2013); and Off the Wall by Sarah Rebell and Danny Abosch (2014).

All musicals submitted (at any level) to NMI by July 15, 2016 will be automatically entered in the Search for New Musicals for next season. Winners of the 2016 Search will be announced by November 15, 2016. The winner of the Search receives a workshop with the Academy Repertory Company, detailed feedback from the NMI staff, and a concert reading in Los Angeles.

Information on submitting to the Search is available by visiting www.nmi.org.

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