NAMT Adds Performers to A TOAST FOR 20! Benefit and Festival

Several great performers have joined the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals on October 20 & 21 at New World Stages and more have been added to the benefit concert A Toast for 20! on October 19th at COMIX. The industry can still register for the Festival of New Musicals at www.namt.org.

New artists joining the Festival: Karen Mason (AND THE WORLD GOES 'ROUND) will join PAMELA'S FIRST MUSICAL, Hunter Foster (URINETOWN) and Skylar Astin (SPRING AWAKENING) will join SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS, Eliseo Roman (IN THE HEIGHTS) and Cheryl Stern (FIRST LADY SUITE) will join THE CUBAN AND THE REDHEAD Lauren Kennedy (SPAMALOT) and David Driver (PEOPLE ARE WRONG!) will join THE LEGEND OF STAGECOACH MARY, Stephen Buntrock (GREASE) will join BEATSVILLE , Julia Lema (LITTLE HAM) will join BARNSTORMER, Liz Larsen (A NEW BRAIN), Elena Shaddow (THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA Nat'l tour) and Michael Kadin Craig (ALTAR BOYZ) join the SONGWRITER SHOWCASE, which Jamie DeRoy will co-host and David Henry Hwang will talk about his work with the writers of VICTOR WOO. Anika Larsen (XANADU) will join A TOAST TO 20! benefit concert.

The final updated cast lists for this year's 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals:

BARNSTORMER        
Book & Lyrics by Cheryl L. Davis
Music by Douglas J. Cohen 
Director: Jerry Dixon (original casts of Tick Tick BOOM!, Once on this Island)
Cast:
Kenita Miller- Xanadu, The Color Purple, Dessa Rose
Norm Lewis- The Little Mermaid, Les Miserables, Amour, Side Show
Julia Lema- Little Ham
Stu James- The Color Purple, Rent
C.E. Smith- The Full Monty, Nothin' But The Blues
Glenn Turner- Five Guys Named Moe, Grand Hotel, High Society
Rema Webb- Lion King, Ragtime

BEATSVILLE         
Music & Lyrics by Wendy Leigh Wilf
Book by Glenn Slater
Director:  Robert Longbottom-Side Show, Flower Drum Song –Tony Nom. for Choreo.
Cast:
Cameron Barnett
Stephen Buntrock (Grease)
Todd Buonopane- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Stephen DeRosa- Into the Woods, Hairspray
Hilary Gardner
Joe Kenosian
Beth Malone- Ring of Fire
Alli Mauzey- Cry Baby
Marla Mindelle
Richard Roland- Thoroughly Modern Millie, Follies, The Scarlet Pimpernel
Tommar Wilson- Hairspray, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The Music Man

THE CUBAN AND THE REDHEAD     
By Robert Bartley and Danny Whitman
Director:              Robert Bartley
Cast:
Jenn Colella (Lucy)- High Fidelity
Tony Yazbeck (Desi)- Gypsy
Michelle Blakely- Annie Get Your Gun
Jessica Carter
Miguel Cervantes          
Philip D'Amore
Hattie Davis
Eileen Galindo
Morgan James         
Eliseo Roman- In the Heights
Roland Rusinek- The Phantom of the Opera 
Jay Russell- The Play What I Wrote
Tim Salamandyk
Cheryl Stern
Kirsten Wyatt- Grease, Urinetown, High Fidelity

THE LEGEND OF STAGECOACH MARY     
By Thomas Mizer and Curtis Moore
Director: Christopher Gatelli-  Altar Boyz, South Pacific- Tony Nomination for Choreo.
Cast:
Danielle Lee Greaves (Mary)- Rent, Hairspray
Lauren Kennedy- Upcoming Vanities, A New Musical
Madeleine Doherty- The Producers, Les Miserables
Sarah Saltzberg- Putnam County Spelling Bee, Don't Quit Your Night Job
J. Austin Eyer- The Secret Garden, Curtains
Josh Henry- In The Heights
David Driver-People Are Wrong!
Jose Llana- Rent, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Flower Drum Song
Jason Patrick Sands-A Chorus Line, Legally Blonde
Nick Wyman - A Tale of Two Cities

ORDINARY DAYS        
By Adam Gwon
Director: Matt Toronto
Cast:
Jared Gertner- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Adam Jacobs- Les Miserables
Kate Shindle- Legally Blonde, Cabaret
Kate Wetherhead- Legally Blonde, Sarah Plain and Tall
 
PAMELA'S FIRST MUSICAL      
Book by Wendy Wasserstein
Music by Cy Coleman
Lyrics by David Zippel
Director: David Zippel
Cast:
Lila Coogan (Pamela) -Mary Poppins
Karen Mason (Aunt Louise)- And the World Goes 'Round 
Steven Bogardus- Irving Berlin's White Christmas, Falsettos
Karen Ziemba- Curtains, Contact, Chicago, Never Gonna Dance
Lewis J. Stadlen- The Producers, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Daniel Reichard- Jersey Boys
Dan Bogart- Les Miserables
Dan Petrotta- A Tale of Two Cities
Devin Richards- A Tale of Two Cities, Suessical, The Life
Adam Jacobs- Les Miserables
Deborah Lew- Beauty and the Beast
Allison Blackwell
Carrie A. Johnson
Allison Walla

SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS     
Book & Lyrics by Adam Mathias
Music by Brad Alexander
Director: Kevin Del Aguila (Book for Altar Boyz)
Cast:
Jill Abramovitz- Junie B. Jones, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me
Skylar Astin- Spring Awakening
Hunter Foster- Urinetown
John Jellison- All Shook Up, Anything Goes
Cassie Wooley
David Rossmer- Titanic, Don't Quit Your Night Job
Wesley Taylor

THE YELLOW WOOD      
Book by Michelle Elliott
Music by Danny Larsen
Lyrics by Elliot and Larsen
Director: Brian Yorkey
Cast:
Danny Larsen 
Melinda Bass
Randy Blair- The Adding Machine
Bob De Dea
MaryAnn Hu- South Pacific
Diana Huey
Morgan Weed- Saved
Amy Linden 

SONGWRITER SHOWCASE
Directed by John Simpkins (SPF's The Black Suits)
Co-Hosted by Robin de Jesus (Tony Nominee- In The Heights) and Jamie DeRoy (Producer, Speed the Plow)
Shows featured:            
A SUPERHERO, Music & Lyrics by Jonathan Waller, Book by Marty Johnson
ADAM LIVES, by Rob Baumgartner
HAVING IT ALMOST, Music by John Kavanaugh, Book by David Goldsmith & Wendy Perelman, Lyrics by David Goldsmith
HOMEMADE FUSION, by Michael Kooman & Chris Dimond
HOSTAGE SONG- Music & Lyrics by Kyle Jarrow , Stories & Book by Clay McLeod Chapman
PEOPLE ARE WRONG- by Julia Greenberg and Robin Goldwasser            
UNLOCK'D-Music by Derek Gregor, Book & Lyrics by Sam Carner
VICTOR WOO - Music & Lyrics by Kevin So, Book by Kevin Merritt, Story Consultant:  David Henry Wang
Performers will include:  Chris Anderson, Michael Kadin Craig (Altar Boyz), David Driver, Liz Larsen (A New Brain), Raymond J. Lee (Mamma Mia!), Sean McCourt (Mary Poppins), Lindsay Mendez (Grease), Patina Miller (Hair), Connie Petruk, Lauren Pritchard (Spring Awakening), Elena Shaddow (The Light In the Piazza Nat'l tour), Tricia Scott, Christopher Totten.  David Henry Hwang will be on hand at the Songwriter Showcase to talk about his work with the writers of VICTOR WOO.

Admission to the FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS for industry only, who may register on www.namt.org.

A stand by line is open to the general public. Historically all stand by patrons have been able to see the Festival shows.

Since 1989, NAMT's FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS has introduced theatre producers to more than 200 musicals and 300 writers.  More than three-fourths of these shows have had further development, tours and licensing agreements, leading to thousands of subsequent productions.  Past festival highlights have included the multiple Tony Award winning The Drowsy Chaperone, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Children of Eden, Honk!, Songs for a New World, Summer of '42 and The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin. 

A Toast to 20!
NAMT is celebrating their 20th Annual Festival of New Musicals e with A Toast to 20!  -- a benefit concert open to the public, highlighting hits from past Festivals and hosted by Tony Award-winners Bob Martin and Beth Leavel (The Drowsy Chaperone, Festival 2004). The concert will take place on Sunday October 19th at Comix, 353 West 14th Street (at 9th Avenue) from 6:00 to 9:00 PM.  Tickets are available to the public from $85 at www.namt.org.

NAMT is very grateful to the following foundations and government agencies for supporting the mission to nurture the production of new musicals and classics: The ASCAP Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, Jamie DeRoy & friends, Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation, The Mackintosh Foundation, The Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation, The Shen Family Foundation and The Shubert Foundation. The Festival of New Musicals is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art, and by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.  

NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR MUSICAL THEATRE (NAMT)
Founded in 1985 and based in New York City, The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), is a national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre.  NAMT has presented its annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS since 1989.  The Festival brings together leading theatre producers and writers, with the goal of furthering the development and production of new musicals. NAMT membership includes not-for-profit and commercial theatres, developmental organizations, universities, and independent producers.  Located throughout 33 states and 6 countries, the 144 member organizations share a commitment to nurture the creation, production, and recognition of new musicals and classics.  Last season, NAMT members cumulatively staged over 23,000 performances attended by over 17 million people and reached revenues of over $510 million.  For more information, visit www.namt.org.

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