The National Alliance for Musical Theatre, founded in 1985, is a not-for-profit organization serving the musical theatre community. Our 155 organizational members and 60 individual members, located throughout 33 states and abroad, are some of the leading producers of musical theatre in the world. They include theatres, presenting organizations, higher education programs and individual producers.

What We Do

Simply put, we serve the musical theatre community. 

Since our founding in 1985, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre has been a catalyst for nurturing musical theatre development, production, innovation and collaboration. We achieve this with festivals, conferences, granting programs, and many other initiatives that bolster the field.

We serve both organizational and individual members throughout North America and abroad. Our members include theatres, presenting organizations, higher education programs and individual producers. Learn more about becoming a member here

We also serve artists — and particularly writers and composers — who create new musicals. 

The Festival of New Musicals

Since 1989 the Festival of New Musicals has introduced musical theatre producers to almost 300 musicals and over 500 writers from around the world. More than 85% have gone on to subsequent readings, workshops, productions and tours; been licensed; and/or recorded on cast albums as a direct result of the Festival. In the short term, the Festival’s goal is to connect producers with writers, so that shows can extend their development trajectory. The long-term goal is to expand the musical theatre repertoire and advance the musical theatre art form.

Our members receive exclusive access to many Festival resources and events.

Bonfire Night in rehearsal for the 24th Annual Festival of New Musicals.

Supporting Our Members

Our members include institutional theatres (both not-for-profit and commercial), new work developers, higher education programs, tour presenters and individual producers/investors. NAMT supports them via new work development, new work funding, event and conference hosting, relationship building and the sharing of ideas.

We foster relationships among our members, which frequently lead to exciting partnerships and co-productions. We also provide opportunities to network, brainstorm and facilitate innovation

Learn more about our services and programs, including conferences, grants and more.

A fast-paced introduction session at the 2019 Fall Conference.

Supporting Artists

After they appear in our Festival, we remain connected to our Alumni Writers. By hosting writers’ roundtables, staging concerts, and providing online resources like the New Musicals Map, we nurture a network of musical theatre creators and continue to promote their work to our members and the field at large. Occasionally, NAMT also provides one-time opportunities such as the 15-Minute Musical Challenge and THEatre ACCELERATOR.

Selections from the 15 Minute Musical Challenge were filmed and presented online by Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music and the Beck Center for the Performing Arts in 2020.

OUR MEMBERS

NAMT’s members make a vital impact in their communities — economically, in education, and by entertaining millions of people.

Last season, the NAMT members collectively…

  • Employed nearly 20,000 staff members and 10,000 artists
  • Staged more than 15,000 performances attended by 3.7 million people
  • Entertained over 200,000 loyal subscribers
  • Provided education programs for half a million students and teachers
  • Had operating budgets totaling $600 million
  • Performed in 290 venues with a total of 147,000 seats
as of 9/12/23

Become a Member

NAMT by the Numbers Survey (PDF)
Jesus Christ Superstar at Village Theatre in Issaquah, WA.

THANK YOU!

NAMT thanks the following foundations, government agencies and organizations for their ongoing support of our programs: The Alhadeff Family Charitable Fund, ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund, The Sheri and Les Biller Family Foundation, BMI Foundation, Wendy Gillespie (Capdevilla Gillespie Foundation), The Giving Bee Foundation, Howard Gilman Foundation, The Hollywood Pantages, Lucille Lortel Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, New York State Council on the Arts, Rodgers and Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, The Ted Snowdon Foundation, and Anonymous donors.

(As of 12/18/23.)
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NAMT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Your contribution to NAMT is tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

This page was last updated on 06/22/2023