National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) is holding their 36th annual Festival of New Musicals October 24 and 25 at Off-Broadway's New World Stages.
Musicals selected for this year's festival include The Brass Teapot (book by Tim Macy and Ramaa Mosley, music and lyrics by Chaz Cardigan, co-conceived by Erik Kaiko), Dear Ex (book, music, and lyrics by Be Steadwell), Helsinki (music and lyrics by Barrett Riggins, book and lyrics by Graham Techler), In Clay (music and lyrics by Jack Miles, book and lyrics by Rebecca Simmonds), Lewis Loves Clark (book and lyrics by Mike Ross, music by Dylan MarcAurele), Lighthouse (book, lyrics, and story by abs wilson, music and story by Veronica Mansour), Medusa (book, music and lyrics by Parisa Shahmir), and Proud Marys (book and lyrics by Jennifer Paz, music and lyrics by Anthony Fedorov).
The eight new musicals were selected out of 583 submissions by a committee of 23 theatre professionals. Twenty musicals were selected as finalists, which included Alice Bliss (book by Karen Hartman, music by Jenny Giering, lyrics by Adam Gwon), Charlotte Lucas is 27 and NOT Dead (book and lyrics by Jessie Field and James Martinez Salem, music by James Martinez Salem), CRASHLIGHT (book, music, and lyrics by Celeste Makoff), The Doctor is Dead (book, music, and lyrics by é boylan), fuzzy (music and lyrics by Will Van Dyke, book and lyrics by Jeff Talbott), HALF MAN || HALF BULL (written and created by Phil Grainger, Oliver Tilney, and Alexander Wright), The Hometown Tour (book, music, and lyrics by Alex Petti), Last Coffee in Rockville (book, music, and lyrics by Julián Mesri), The Miraculous Matters of Mr. Mercado's Fishbowl (book by Sarah Lina Sparks, music by Samuel Perlman, lyrics and additional book by Mitchell Huntley), Oy Band (book, music, and lyrics by Bonnie Gleicher), Regretting Almost Everything (book and lyrics by Lauren Taslitz, music by Danny Ursetti), and Six Guns Runnin' (book, music, and lyrics by Beaufield Berry).
The festival is overseen by NAMT New Works Director Frankie Dailey. The leadership team also includes Festival Producers Joey Monda and Skye Cone Ivey, and General Manager Greg Kamp. The Festival Casting Director is Michael Cassara.
"As NAMT Festival musicals from past years go into further development and production around the globe, we are thrilled to introduce another eight, new, extraordinary projects to the musical theatre field this October," Executive Director Betsy King Militello said in an earlier statement. "We look forward to supporting the relationships cultivated among writers and producers that invariably emerge from the Festival. In 2023, over 780 industry attendees joined us in New York City to celebrate brilliant writing teams from all corners of the country. We anticipate that 2024 will be our biggest year ever, reflecting the investment by our colleagues in new works and the enduring, passionate demand for programs like the Festival of New Musicals.”
The Festival of New Musicals was created to celebrate the new musicals that were being produced and presented around the country, and has introduced musical theatre producers to 300 musicals and 575 writers from around the world. 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, and more.
Visit NAMT.org for more information.
