Kate Baldwin, Julie Benko, and More Join National Alliance for Musical Theatre's FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS

National Alliance for Musical Theatre has announced initial casting and more details about the lineup for the 36thAnnual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, which takes place on Thursday, October 24 and Friday, October 25, 2024, at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues).

 Now in its 36th year, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS is an industry-only professional development event offering the chance to discover eight new musicals presented in 45-minute concert presentations over two days to hundreds of producers, presenters artistic & executive directors, investors, donors, developers and creative administrators in Regional Theatre, Broadway, Music, Film & TV from all around the globe. As a non-profit organization, NAMT funds the Festival entirely through donations, sponsorships and contributions which underwrite all production costs.  

PRELIMINARY FESTIVAL CASTING

Preliminary casting for the 36th Annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS includes Renee Albulario (Here Lies Love), Joan Almedilla (Miss Saigon), Julie Benko (Harmony),Emily Borromeo (School of Rock), Jane Bruce (Jagged Little Pill), Sydney Carmona (Hangar Theatre: Ragtime), Gabi Carrubba (Dear Evan Hansen), Adante Carter (Off-Broadway: Here We Are), Emy Coligado (FOX: Malcolm in the Middle), Red Concepcion (Chicago), Bobby Conte (A Bronx Tale), Ben Fankhauser (Newsies), Andrew Faria (The Met: Dead Man Walking), Stephanie Gibson (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory), Diana Huey (Tour: Disney’s The Little Mermaid), Amy Jo Jackson (Off-Broadway: Dirty Laundry), Kiana Kabeary (Off-Broadway: Empire: The Musical), Elizabeth Ward Land (Scandalous), Jose Llana (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Jaygee Macapugay (Suffs), Constantine Maroulis (Rock of Ages), Mackenzie Meadows (Paper Mill Playhouse: RENT), TJ Newton (Tour: Spamilton), David Scott Purdy (Merrily We Roll Along), Aaron Michael Ray (Off-Broadway: Ghost of John McCain), Molly Samson (Tour: Come From Away), Allie Seibold (Tour: Footloose), Graham Stevens (Spamalot), Reuben Uy (Cleveland Playhouse: The Great Leap), Tatiana Wechsler (Mr. Saturday Night).

Final casting will be announced soon. The casting director for the Festival of New Musicals is Michael Cassara, CSA.

FESTIVAL ROADTRIP CASTING & LINEUP

New to the Festival this year, NAMT’s FESTIVAL ROADTRIP will highlight new musical theatre festivals at NAMT Member Organizations from across the country, offering a unique opportunity for a sneak peek into the vibrant musical theatre scene happening nationwide. This year’s Festival Roadtrip lineup will include:

Theater Latté Da’s NEXT Festival (Minneapolis, MN): Featuring songs from musicals by David Darrow (Fest ’19), Michael Holland and The Kilbanes with performances by Paige Faure, Shawna Hamic and David Darrow

Village Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals (Issaquah, WA): Featuring songs from musicals by Kit Yan & Melissa Li (both Fest ’19), Sam Salmond, Malika Oyetimien & Jenny Stafford, and Michael Kooman & Christopher Dimond (both Fests ’11 & ’14) with performances by Tatiana Lofton, Jae W.B. and Diana Huey 

Goodspeed Musicals’ Festival of New Musicals (East Haddam, CT): Featuring songs from Goodspeed’s first two commissioned musicals written and performed by Joriah Kwamé and Scott Gilmour & Claire McKenzie (both Fest ’19) 

Red Mountain Theatre’s Human Rights Festival (Birmingham, AL): Featuring songs & conversation with the artists from Love Somebody Now by Andrew Lippa (Fests ’05 & ’06), Nathan Brewer & Matt Webster with performances by Kate Baldwin, Adi Roy and Audrey Cardwell

 ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, which was created to celebrate the new musicals that were being produced and presented around the country, has introduced musical theatre producers to 300 musicals and 575 writers from around the world. More than 85% have gone on to subsequent readings, workshops, productions and tours; been licensed; and/or recorded on cast albums as a direct result of the Festival. Past Festival shows include Come From Away, Lempicka, The Drowsy Chaperone, Lizard Boy, Teeth, Gun & Powder, King of Pangea, Benny & Joon, Darling Grenadine, Ordinary Days, It Shoulda Been You and Thoroughly Modern Millie, among many others.

Registration for industry members is now open at www.namt.org/festival. All industry members must select a professional affiliation (i.e. NAMT, the Broadway League, TCG, many more) to register. Industry members may upgrade their Festival passes for priority admission and access to supplemental events, including the Festival Closing Night Party, through a donation to NAMT. Free General Standby passes are available to industry members only and may provide seating at Festival presentations on a first-come, first-served basis as available after all other passholders have entered.

This year, a committee of 23 theatre professionals selected eight new musicals out of 583 submissions—marking a record-breaking submission season for the second year in a row. The musicals chosen for the 36th Annual Festival of New Musicals are:

The Brass Teapot (Book by Tim Macy & Ramaa Mosley, Music & Lyrics by Chaz Cardigan, Co-conceived by Erik Kaiko), Dear Ex (Book, Music & Lyrics by Be Steadwell), Helsinki (Music & Lyrics by Barrett Riggins, Book & Lyrics by Graham Techler), In Clay (Book & Lyrics by Rebecca Simmonds, Music & Lyrics by Jack Miles), Lewis Loves Clark (Book and Lyrics by Mike Ross, Music by Dylan MarcAurele), LIGHTHOUSE (Book, Lyrics & Story by abs wilson, Music & Story by Veronica Mansour), Medusa (Book, Music & Lyrics by Parisa Shahmir), Proud Marys (Book and Lyrics by Jennifer Paz, Music & Lyrics by Anthony Fedorov).

 

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