National Alliance for Musical Theatre Reveals Directors and Music Directors For the 35th Annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS

National Alliance for Musical Theatre has announced the creative teams for the 35th Annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, which takes place on Thursday, October 26 and Friday, October 27, 2023, at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues).

Now in its 35th year, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre's FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS is a must-attend event for theatre producers, presenters and developers from around the world. This industry-only festival offers the chance to discover eight new musicals presented in 45-minute concert presentations over two days. As a non-profit organization, NAMT funds the Festival entirely through donations, sponsorships and contributions which underwrite all production costs.

Directors for this year’s Festival include Rebecca Aparicio (Latinx Playwrights Circle), Dev Bondarin (Associate Artistic Director, Prospect Theater Company), Catie Davis (Broadway/Tour: Beetlejuice), Bo Frazier (Chicago: tick, tick…BOOM!), Kimille Howard (Artistic Director, Lucille Lortel Theatre’s NYC Public High School Playwrighting Fellowship), Jess McLeod (Woolly Mammoth BOLD Resident Director), Leora Morris (Alliance Theatre: Ride the Cyclone) and Abbey O’Brien (Broadway: Waitress, Jagged Little Pill).

Music Directors for this year’s Festival include Kurt Crowley (Broadway: Hamilton, Freestyle Love Supreme), Andrea Grody (Broadway: The Band’s Visit), Jesse Kissel (Broadway: Chicago, The Visit), Lily Ling (Broadway: How to Dance in Ohio), Anessa Marie (Off-Broadway: White Girl in Danger), Patrick Sulken (Off-Broadway: Little Shop of Horrors) and Alyssa Kay Thompson (Broadway: 1776).

The Festival will also welcome eight participants to the Festival Observership for Early-Career Directors. This Directing Observership provides artists from underrepresented groups with the opportunity to join the musical theatre development process through each step of building a staged reading presentation. The 2023 cohort includes Cooper Ellis, Abigail Holland, Nikki Mirza, Aidan Pauer, Tah-Janay Shayoñe, Joyah Love Spangler, Tyra Ann-Marie Wilson and Wanye’ Yoakum.

Thomas Bertron and India Shanelle will join the Festival producing team as Line Producers.

The Festival has introduced musical theatre producers to nearly 300 musicals and over 500 writers from around the world. As a direct result of the FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS, more than 85% of the shows presented have gone on to subsequent readings, workshops, productions or tours; been licensed; and/or recorded on cast albums. Some past Festival shows include Come From Away, Lempicka, The Drowsy Chaperone, Lizard Boy, Teeth, Benny & Joon, Darling Grenadine, Ordinary Days, Striking 12, It Shoulda Been You, Interstate and Thoroughly Modern Millie, among many others.

Free Registration for industry members is now open at www.namt.org/festival.

This year, a committee of 18 theatre professionals selected eight new musicals out of 575 submissions—the Festival’s largest submission pool ever. The musicals chosen for the 35th Annual Festival are:

Fallout (Music & Lyrics by Dmitry Koltunov, Book by David Goldsmith), Fountain (Book, Music & Lyrics by Christopher Anselmo & Jared Corak), Fountain of You (Book & Lyrics by Tasha Gordon-Solmon, Music by Faye Chiao), Mija (Music & Lyrics by Anna Gilbert and Gaby Moreno, Book by Evynne Hollens & Rebecca Tourino Collinsworth), Never Be King (Music by Charlie H. Ray & Sam Columbus, Book & Lyrics by Charlie H. Ray), The Oscar Micheaux Project (Working Title) (Music by Alphonso Horne, Lyrics by Jesse L. Kearney Jr. & Peter Mills, Book by Jesse L. Kearney Jr. & Cara Reichel, Additional Music by Peter Mills), Wonder Boy (Book, Music & Lyrics by Jaime Jarrett), Yoko's Husband's Killer's Japanese Wife, Gloria (Book by Brandy Hoang Collier, Lyrics by Clare Fuyuko Bierman, Music by Erika Ji).

Casting for each musical and further programming details will be announced soon.

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