Musical Theatre West Announces Selections For 2024 New Works Program

Musical Theatre West (MTW), Southern California's premier musical theatre company, announced today its selections for its 2024 New Works Program: Broken Ground, with book and lyrics by Christine Toy Johnson and music and lyrics by Jason Ma, The Dark Lady, with music by Veronica Mansour and book and lyrics by Sophie Boyce, and Māyā, with music and book by Cheeyang Ng and book and lyrics by Eric Sorrels. The three selections will have their pieces featured as part of the invite-only festival in Long Beach, CA.

“We are thrilled about the incredible trio of new musicals that we chose to be a part of our New Works Program this year.” said Paul Garman, Executive Director/Producer for MTW. “We had over 70 submissions from around the world, with several excellent pieces in consideration. But these three pieces are so uniquely special, and we can't wait to be a part of the developmental journey for these incredible new musicals.”

Broken Ground was originally commissioned by the Village Theatre in Washington as a part of their New Works program, and has since had several iterations around the country, most recently with a weeklong workshop with the University of Michigan Department of Musical Theatre in May of 2022. The Dark Lady was developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center in July 2023, as part of their National Musical Theatre Conference, starring Broadway favorites Samantha Williams, Erika Henningsen, and Kyle Selig. Māyā was conceived at New York University's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program by its creators and has enjoyed readings at the NAMT Festival and was recently a part of the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshop with Stephen Schwartz.

MTW's New Works Program began in 2021, and spawned from participation in Inclusion Media Company's “Raise Your Voice Playwriting Competition.” Since then, MTW has produced three 29-hour staged readings each year, with the goal of providing writers of new musical theatre an opportunity to see their work on its feet and receive an audience's feedback. To learn more about the MTW New Works Program, visit musical.org/new-works.

Tickets for MTW's 2024 Mainstage Season, which features 42nd Street, Million Dollar Quartet, Newsies, and Ain't Misbehavin', are now on sale. For more information, visit musical.org or call (562) 856-1999.

The story of Musical Theatre West is the 71-year journey from a group of volunteers performing in a high school auditorium to one of the largest and most respected theatrical production companies in Southern California. Utilizing professional talent, and producing regional and even world premiere musicals while continuing to honor the tradition of classic musical theatre, MTW is the largest arts producer in the Long Beach area. The company continues to receive critical acclaim and national recognition – and many performers who cut their teeth on the MTW stage have gone on to successful careers on Broadway and in television and film. Just as importantly, stage and screen veterans now come to Musical Theatre West to perform, finding it to be one of the friendliest and most fun venues to work in. A key aspect of the company is its dedication to education, and the Education and Outreach Programs of Musical Theatre West bring the joy and magic of musical theater to over 17,000 children each year through special morning performances, traveling shows and school assemblies, and the Summer Youth Conservatory. Musical Theatre West has a mission to enrich the community with Broadway-quality productions, preserve musical theatre as a unique American art form, and expose people of all backgrounds to the excitement of musical theatre. We hope you'll join us.

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