Listing of Past Festival Presentations

The 19th annual Festival of New Musicals was held in New York City at New World Stages, 340 W. 50th Street (between Eighth and Ninth Avenues) on Sunday, October 7 and Monday, October 8, 2007 for an invited audience of NAMT members and musical theatre producers.

If you are interested in finding out more information about these shows, please contact info@namt.org.

Following is information about the 2007 Festival presentations:

THE BREAK UP NOTEBOOK: THE LESBIAN MUSICAL
Music and Lyrics by Lori Scarlett
Book by Patricia Cotter

The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical examines a year in the life of the recently dumped Helen Hill.  With her family of friends by her side she encounters: two-stepping twelve-steppers, Paxil popping lawyers, dental dams, grrrl bands, hot girl on girl action, and maybe…just maybe… the girl of her dreams. The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical features a book by television and screenwriter Patricia Cotter and music and lyrics by LA composer, Lori Scarlett.

Originally a play by Patricia Cotter, in 2001 The Break Up Notebook premiered at the LA Gay and Lesbian Center earning a GLAAD nomination. In 2005, the musical had its World Premiere at the Hudson Theatre in Hollywood, produced by Rose Marcario, where it received an Ovation Award for Best World Premiere Musical, an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Score, and six Garland Awards, including Best Adaptation. The show has since been work-shopped at NAMT Member Baldwin-Wallace College Conservatory of Music and produced at San Diego’s Diversionary Theatre, co-produced by Rose Marcario.

CASEY AT THE BAT
Music by Gordon Goodwin
Book and Lyrics by Tom Child

Based on the classic poem, and the book ”Casey On The Loose" by acclaimed sportswriter Frank Deford, Casey comes to bat for Mudville, U.S.A. in a big-hearted, small-town tale of humor, love, greed and the competitive spirit to learn that he can be a hero even when he strikes out. Bookwriter and lyricst Tom Child is a freelance writer of theatre, tv and film and has written dozens of tunes, and composer Gordon Goodwin is a Grammy and Emmy Award winning musician for his work on animation series and movie, “The Incredibles” and is leader of the big band Big Phat Band.

Casey at the Bat has had two staged readings in Los Angeles.  The first was performed at the ninety-nine seat Coronet Theater in July 2002.  The second reading was held at the El Portal Theater in Los Angeles in September 2003.

THE CHOCOLATE TREE
Music by Marshall Pailet
Lyrics by A.D. Penedo
Book by Marshall Pailet and A.D. Penedo

A remarkable young girl stricken with a grave illness uses her rich fantasy world and indomitable spirit to bring the impossible to life, which takes her family and the audience on a powerful, transforming journey. The Chocolate Tree is written by the team Marshall Pailet and A.D. Penedo (Loch Ness and Where It’s At - ASCAP, New York International Fringe Festival).

An initial reading of The Chocolate Tree was held at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in October 2006. Since then, The New Jersey Repertory Company in association with Vasi Laurence and P2 Creations presented an Equity staged reading in June 2007.

THE GYPSY KING
Music and Lyrics by Randy Rogel
Book by Randy Rogel and Kirby Ward

Two penniless entertainers stumble into a small town and land smack dab in the middle of a plot to assassinate the King. When it’s discovered that one of them looks exactly like the doomed monarch, things get sticky. The Gypsy King is a collaboration between award winning film and television writer and composer Randy Rogel and actor, director, choreographer and film writer Kirby Ward.

The Gypsy King was first presented under its working title, Romancing the Throne at the New Tuners Series in Chicago in 2005. It was then work-shopped and presented at NAMT Member Goodspeed Musicals. Following a table read at NAMT Member Academy for New Musical Theatre in Los Angeles, it was chosen to be presented at Stephen Schwartz’s ASCAP New Musicals seminar this January and then brought back for a “long-form” evening. The show has also recently been work-shopped at NAMT Member Carousel Dinner Theatre in Ohio.

KINGDOM
Music by Ian Williams
Book and Lyrics by Aaron Jafferis

Inspired by the true stories of current and former Latin Kings, Kingdom chronicles the journey of two kids from the barrio who join the Kings in search of power and respect. When tragedy strikes, a power struggle tears the two friends apart – with devastating results. Kingdom composer Ian Williams is a NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writer, and book writer/lyricist Aaron Jafferis is known for his hip hop poetry and plays.

Kingdom has received developmental readings at NAMT Member NYU's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, as part of The Public Theater's New Work Now! Series, and at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. The musical had its World Premiere as part of the New York Musical Theater Festival in 2006, produced by Latin Kingdom Entertainment with Eric Louie. It was awarded The NYMF Award for Excellence: Most Promising New Musical. The musical was also cited as a 2006 Outstanding New Musical by Talkin' Broadway. The show recently had its New Haven premiere at The Bregamos Community Theater.

THE STORY OF MY LIFE
Music and Lyrics by Neil Bartram
Book by Brian Hill

The Story of My Life is a two-character musical about Thomas, a writer, and Alvin – lifelong friends, until life sent them in different directions. When suddenly faced with the task of writing Alvin’s eulogy, Thomas digs through the cluttered collection of stories in his mind – with Alvin as his guide – to find a way to celebrate his friend’s life and understand his untimely death.  Composer and lyricist Neil Bartram is a recipient of a Dramatists Guild Jonathan Larson Fellowship and a 2005 Jonathan Larson Foundation Award, and book writer Brian Hill is currently the Associate Director for the Broadway-bound The Little Mermaid.

The Story of My Life received developmental readings at Manhattan Theatre Club, The O’Neill Center, and CanStage. A production at Toronto’s CanStage in November 2006 starred Brent Carver and Jeffrey Kuhn and received 3 Dora Award nominations including Outstanding New Musical. The piece was heard at NAMT’s 2006 Songwriters Showcase. Work continued on the piece at NAMT Member TheatreWorks, Silicon Valley Writers Retreat in January 2007.

TINYARD HILL
Music by Mark Allen
Book and Lyrics by Thomas M. Newman

In South Georgia, 1964, a blacksmith and his son are desperate to keep the family’s two-hundred year old shop from becoming another “pioneer” tourist joke.  But as the Vietnam Conflict escalates and a summer romance blossoms, the world grows too large to ignore in this moving story about big love and small-town dreams. Tinyard Hill has a score by published theatre and film composer Mark Allen (2005 ASCAP Max Dreyfus Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing) and book and lyrics by Thomas M. Newman (O’Neill Center Theatre Fellow and NYU Musical Theatre Graduate Program Writer).

Tinyard Hill was presented by NAMT Member NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in April, 2006 and was selected for further development by Goodspeed Musicals in 2007.  The writers also received a Frederick Loewe Award for Musical Theatre Writing, presenting Tinyard Hill in March 2007 as a part of the First Look Reading Series at the Musical Theatre Writing Program at Tisch.

WRITING ARTHUR
Book, Music and Lyrics by David Austin

Arthur Danby has finally found the perfect woman. Problem is, she’s a fictional character in his novel. When a very real woman steps into his life, his worlds collide. Will Arthur fall deeper into the world he’s created or allow life to write itself? Writing Arthur creator David A. Austin is a proud member of the BMI workshop, and has written book, music and lyrics for over twenty musicals. Mr. Austin has been commissioned by NAMT Members the Fifth Avenue Theatre and the Village Theatre, and received a commendation from the Antoine D'Exupery Foundation for his adaptation of The Little Prince.

Writing Arthur was developed through a series of staged readings in 2006, and most recently, a workshop production at NAMT Member TheatreWorks in Silicon Valley, CA in April, 2007. For additional information, contact the producers Roy Miller and Jennifer Maloney at WritingArthur@gmail.com.