In an editorial advocating for more development opportunities for home-grown musicals in Britain by Mark Shenton in The Stage, Festival alumnus Anthony Drewe (Honk!, Festival 1999; The Three Little Pigs, Festival 2013) shared some nice words about NAMT and his experience (with partner George Stiles) being in the Festival.
There’s a wonderful network there called the National Alliance for Musical Theatre that’s actively searching to find and produce new musicals and getting them on at theatres like Goodspeed Opera House in Connecticut, the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts and the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire, Illinois, at each of which we’ve worked. They all have a subscription base, and audiences subscribe to the whole season. So an artistic director can put on Miss Saigon and The Student Prince and Carousel, and throw in a new show as part of a five-show season. Not only is it great for the theatre community to see new shows, but it also gives them a sense of ownership – that they’re helping to nurture a new show that could become a show of the future.
Check out the full article, about the efforts Stiles, Drewe, Shenton, and organizations including NAMT members Mercury Musical Developments and Leicester Curve are making to bring more musical theatre development to the UK.