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Announcing the 29th Annual Festival of New Musicals

June 28, 2017

We are thrilled to announce the line-up of new musicals for the 29th Annual Festival of New Musicals, which takes place on Thursday, October 19 and Friday, October 20, 2017 in New York.
Now in its 29th year, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals attracts theatre producers from around the world for this industry-only event to discover eight new musicals presented in 45-minute concert presentations over two days. All production costs are underwritten by NAMT, at no cost to the writing teams. As a non-profit organization, NAMT funds the Festival entirely through donations, sponsorships and contributions.

Members in the News: It’s beginning to look a lot like Broadway at Ogunquit Playhouse, Maine State Music Theatre

June 19, 2017

The Portland Press Herald recently wrote a feature about two Maine-based NAMT members, Ogunquit Playhouse and Maine State Music Theatre. The article highlights the extraordinary changes that both Ogunquit and MSMT have made in recently, through expanding their seasons, programming new work, bringing in big-name talent and much more. In response to audience demand, both theatres have focused on creating Broadway-level productions, a focus that has paid off both in ticket sales and in reputation.

Carla Maria Verdino-Süllwold of Brunswick, who writes and edits for the online theater website Broadway World, said both theaters have transitioned into the 21st century with their sophistication and technological savvy while retaining some of their mid-20th century appeal. New York has noticed, and that recognition is reflected in both the quality of the creative talent working in Maine as well as the number of premieres both theaters take on.

To read the whole article and learn more about the work Ogunquit and MSMT are doing, visit the Portland Press Herald‘s website.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: Deathless

June 14, 2017

Goodspeed Musicals is in rehearsal for their upcoming world premiere of Deathless, written by Zack Zadek. We chatted with Donna Lynn Hilton, the Line Producer at Goodspeed, to learn more about the musical’s history, current production and hopes for the future.
The Serling family is taking its annual road trip to Niagara Falls, but this time they’re saying goodbye to Mom. Along the way, memories of past trips, old wounds and family secrets are navigated in a not-too-distant future where no one dies of disease. For daughter Hayley, the journey means facing the big questions of life and death.
How did Goodspeed’s relationship with Zack Zadek first begin, and what about Deathless inspired you to produce the show?
We first became of aware of Zack and his work in the fall of 2015 when Zack was nominated to participate in the 2016 Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed. The Mercer Colony, created at Goodspeed five years ago with support from the Johnny Mercer Foundation nurtures the work of writers, composers and lyricists of all backgrounds and in all stages of their careers, by providing a safe haven for creative work and collaboration. Zack applied and was quickly invited to attend the Colony in February of 2016 with his project Deathless. Each day during their colony residence, writers are given the opportunity to gather for a communal breakfast and again each evening, to share their work and to exchange thoughts and ideas. Otherwise, they are free to spend each day in the manner that best suits their individual projects and writing styles. Along the way, we strive to provide each project with individual support that best suits their needs. On the final day of his residency, Zack requested that several other writers join him in a very casual read through of his completed script of Deathless. At the last minute, I was invited to sit in on the reading. My presence that day wasn’t a given. The Colony is very much by, and for, the writers participating and if Zack didn’t want to expose his work, we wouldn’t ask him to. But in this case, Zack was comfortable and invited me to stop by. So on a snowy Saturday morning in February, I wrapped up and trundled into town…and I am very glad that I did so. The reading—while completely cold, with five other writers reading scene and Zack performing the songs—was transformative. I left that reading and called Michael Gennaro…”You gotta read this piece.” He did and had a similar reaction to my own…we were off.

Members in the News

Kirsten Childs Thinks Big

May 16, 2017

Kirsten Childs, a Festival alumna for The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (Fest ’98) and Funked Up Fairy Tales (Fest ’12), is well known for her imaginative stories, and her latest musical certainly lives up to that reputation. Supported by a production grant from the National Fund for New Musicals, Childs’ Bella: An American Tall Tale had its world premiere at NAMT member Dallas Theater Center, and the production is now playing in New York at member theatre Playwrights Horizons. American Theatre recently published a feature on Childs, her latest production and her views on the theatre.

“The musical theatre form can lift you to such a wonderful place,” Childs testifies. “And it’s my personal and political goal to be uplifting, without needing to give people rose-colored glasses, without needing to let the truth be swept under the carpet, and without pretending that awful things don’t exist.”

Read the full profile the American Theatre website. Interested in learning more about how the project came to be? Check out our interview with Childs’ from last year.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: Onegin

May 4, 2017

The Musical Stage Company, formerly known as Acting Up Stage Company, is preparing to open a production of the new Canadian musical Onegin, written by Amiel Gladstone and Veda Hille. We reached out to find out more about the production and The Musical Stage Company as a whole.
A thrilling, contemporary adaptation of Pushkin’s timeless poem and Tchaikovsky’s renowned opera, Onegin features a high-energy musical score to tell a sweeping tale of unrequited love, infatuation and intrigue. When the young and innocent Tatyana falls in love with the self-obsessed aristocrat Onegin, he firmly rejects her, arousing passionate love letters, noble duels and second chances.
What is The Musical Stage Company’s history with new works, and how does this new production of Onegin fit into your overall commitment to new works development?
On top of our regular season of programming which features contemporary musicals from around the world, we have commissioned nearly a dozen new Canadian musicals in the last five years, and produced six new Canadian musicals at home and abroad. Additionally, we have pioneered programs to support Canadian writers including training programs, commissioning programs and our new Crescendo Series which brings one writer into residence with our organization for three years alongside a commitment to produce one of their new musicals each year of their residency.
Giving Onegin its second production and bringing it to Toronto audiences for the first time helps advance our goal of sharing new Canadian works with local audiences. Our belief that we can subsequently champion Onegin across Canada and beyond through our production (we have already confirmed a tour to Canada’s National Arts Centre in Ottawa in September) reinforces our priority to shepherd new Canadian musicals around the world.

NAMT News

2017-2018 National Fund for New Musicals Grants Announced

April 28, 2017

We are thrilled to announce 16 awards granted from their National Fund for New Musicals, a major funding program to support NAMT member not-for-profit theatres in their collaborations with writers to create, develop and produce new musicals. Now in its ninth year, the Fund will provide grants totaling $53,000 to organizations across the country.
NAMT Executive Director Betsy King Militello stated: “We are honored and excited to support our member theatres as they work with this inspiring group of writers to develop these innovative and provocative new musicals. With these grants, we have now awarded 104 grants totaling $411,500. These projects will join a growing list of important new musicals added to the canon with support from our National Fund for New Musicals.”

NAMT News

Fest Show Update: The Trouble With Doug

April 17, 2017

This month we chatted with Will Aronson and Daniel Maté, the writers of 2010 Festival Show The Trouble with Doug. Will and Daniel are now preparing for the show’s European Premiere with NAMT member Fredericia Teater in Denmark.
The last time we checked in with you both, you were getting ready for a 2014 Florida production of The Trouble with Doug. What work have you been doing on the show since that production?
In late 2015 we got a call from Victoria Clark, saying her schedule had an opening and would we like to reconvene and do some further work on the show together? Now, when Vicki Clark throws up the Bat-signal (Slug-signal?), you jump at the chance: we’d had such a great experience with her as our NAMT director and the timing felt right to revisit the project. Since then we’ve had a pair of readings with Vicki at the helm (a quickie and then a full 29-hour reading), with our main focus on refining the first twenty minutes of the show, and on really nailing the intended tone.

NAMT News

Broadway Stars Urge You To Help Protect The NEA

April 14, 2017

Go to Playbill.com to watch a video featuring Broadway stars (and past Festival of New Musicals and Songwriter Showcase alumni writers and performers) Sheldon Harnick (That Pig of a Molette, Festival ’89), Drew Gasparini (Songwriters Showcase 2009) Alex Brightman, Ann Harada, Kara Lindsay, and more speaking passionately about the need to support the arts and the NEA.

In the wake of the Trump administration’s 2018 budget proposal, which calls for the elimination of the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and additional domestic programs, several Broadway stars and luminaries have joined forces with Playbill to express their concern and to say “no” to these cuts.

See all of Playbill’s NEA news at playbill.com/nea, and get a script for calling your representatives to tell them you support the arts here.

‘Zoot Suit’ Draws Crowds and Decked-Out Fans in Los Angeles

April 13, 2017

NAMT member Center Theatre Group’s new production of Zoot Suit was recently featured in a New York Times article. The article highlights the audience reaction to this season’s production; the show was first staged by CTG in the late ’70s and premiered on Broadway in 1979. This year’s production has proved extremely popular, with sold-out houses and three extensions. Audience members are also expressing their excitement about the show in another way–by coming to the theatre dressed in the fashions highlighted onstage. The NY Times spoke with several of these audience members about what seeing the show staged today means to them.

“My mom was a pachuca, and before I saw the play I would be very embarrassed, I would be ashamed of my own skin. Then she took us to the play, and what stood out to me most was that most of the audience was Anglo and they were shouting and embracing what was going on. I remember feeling kind of proud, finally. I thought, Wow, this is my culture and where we come from.”
-Valerie Munoz

Who knew Wichita was such a talent pipeline to Broadway?

April 12, 2017

The Wichita Eagle recently wrote a feature on NAMT Member Music Theatre Wichita, focusing on the caliber of MTW’s work, and how that makes the Kansas theatre a pipeline to Broadway for many young actors. The piece talks with many actors and theatre professionals who credit MTW as the place that kick-started their careers. Producing artistic director Wayne Bryan is also featured in the piece, discussing MTW’s programs and the important role that the theatre plays in shaping Broadway’s talent pool.

“There’s a real passion and a real openness to, I think, a lot of the performers that come out of the MTWichita program, and I think that contrasts with a lot of other young actors I see, where there’s a lot of self-doubt and a lot of sort of competition and a lot of second-guessing themselves,” [Stephen Kopel, Broadway casting director and MTW alum] said. “The folks that work at MTWichita, probably because they’re working at such a professional environment, come out a step ahead in terms of knowing how to present yourself, not second-guessing yourself and not treating everything as a sort of competition. There is an openness and joy to what those performers do, and I think that comes from MTWichita.”

NAMT News

Defining Success: NAMT's 2017 Survey Results

April 10, 2017

Every two years, NAMT conducts a survey of our member theatres about what shows they produced, which of those shows they considered risky, and how they performed both at the box office and in audience response. The survey is primarily a tool for our members to see what other theatres are doing and look at factors that might help them plan their own seasons. Here in the office we also like to look at larger trends in what the NAMT membership is working on. While the complete survey results are only made available to members who participate in the survey, we wanted to share some general findings here.

Know a Theatre: WaterTower Theatre of Addison, Texas

March 10, 2017

For the second month in a row, a NAMT member was featured in American Theatre‘s monthly “Know a Theatre” feature. This month, American Theatre spoke with Joanie Schultz, the new artistic director at WaterTower Theatre in Addison, TX. They spoke about about the theatre’s history, Schultz’s relationship to the organization and her excitement about theatre’s future.

I’m in the midst of a lot of exciting new developments at WaterTower, as we shift our focus toward creating empathy, building community, and creating dialogue with innovative, engaging theatre that speaks to our contemporary moment. This coming season we will be doing new and contemporary work and using our theatre in ways it’s never been used before. It’s an exciting time to be in the Dallas-Fort Worth area and at WaterTower Theatre in particular.

NAMT News

Festival Show Update: Come From Away

March 1, 2017

In honor of Come From Away‘s upcoming Broadway opening, this month we checked in with Irene Sankoff and David Hein to see how the piece has changed since we last spoke to them after the 2013 Festival, and what’s different about preparing for a Broadway opening. We also took a look back at the show’s beginnings in a interview with Michael Rubinoff.
The last time we checked in with you both, you were preparing for Come From Away’s world premiere at La Jolla Playhouse. The show has had a whirlwind journey since then! What have been some of your favorite moments along the way?
David: La Jolla was incredible! It was our first production, our first reviews, and our first time working with most of our team.
Irene: We went from being this unknown show to people lining up for 3 hours in the hopes of getting tickets. I was walking around in a daze. Then at Seattle Rep, the theatre was much bigger and I remember the look on the cast’s faces after the blackout when the audience responded. They said after it was like being hit by a wall of sound.
David: The phone lines crashed there because of people looking for tickets. And they flew the Mayor of Gander, Newfoundland out—they declared it “Gander Day” and gave him a key to the city. Seattle was very good to us.
Irene: Ford’s Theatre in DC was surreal because there were so many politicians in the audience, from both sides of the aisle. And they reacted the same way to this story of kindness—with laughter and tears. We also had a lot of repeat visitors—some who were survivors of the attack in D.C. and some who had lost loved ones.

Know a Theatre: Broadway Rose Theatre Company

February 8, 2017

American Theatre recently featured NAMT member Broadway Rose Theatre in their monthly “Know a Theatre” feature. Sharon Maroney, Broadway Rose’s producing artistic director, was interviewed about the theatre’s history, regional impact, artistic programming and more.

We are committed to producing new or lesser-known works as well as classic Broadway musicals. We always want to balance our season with artistically satisfying productions and shows that will help us stay financially sound. Last season we did a new work called Fly by Night. It was wonderful—an artistic and critical success and our audience enjoyed it. We also did Church Basement Ladies—a definite crowd pleaser that sold out and helped support other productions that we knew wouldn’t make as much money but were important to produce.

NAMT News

New Work in Progress: Millikin University's New Musical Workshop

February 1, 2017

This month we chatted with Lori Bales, an Associate Professor at Millikin University and the director of the school’s New Musical Workshop. Millikin is currently in rehearsal for their 10th Annual New Musical Workshop, featuring works by Sam Carner and Derek Gregor, as well as songs by Festival alumni Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond (Fest ’11, Dani Girl; Fest ’14, The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes).
This year Millikin University is celebrating its 10-year anniversary of producing new works—can you tell us about the history of your program?
We’d like to send out a big thank you to Scott Guy, Elise Dewsberry, and John Sparks for their support in our start-up year. In 2007 we piloted our program in collaboration with New Musicals Inc. (formerly ANMT) followed by a collaboration with Theatre Building Chicago in 2008. My initial inspiration for this program was in a breakout group at the 2004 NAMT Conference, moderated by John Sparks. In 2009 we began working with solo writing teams Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond, and Jeff Thompson and Jordan Mann. We’ve had the privilege of collaborating with many other truly gifted writers: Adam Gwon and Sarah Hammond, Andrew Lippa, Marissa Michaelson, Amy Engelhardt and Marc Acito, Joshua Salzman and Ryan Cunningham, and Millikin alums Derek Hassler and his partner Landon Braverman, and Joshua Streeter and his partner Ryan Laney. We are currently workshopping two shows with Sam Carner and Derek Gregor. In celebration of our ten-year anniversary, Michael Kooman and Chris Dimond will join us for a retrospective cabaret celebrating their canon of work. In addition to developmental workshops/residencies we also provide fully realized developmental productions on our mainstage season. To date we’ve produced Golden Gate by Kooman and Dimond and String by Gwon and Hammond.

NAMT News

Festival Show Update: Beatsville

January 31, 2017

Beatsville, written by Wendy Wilf and Glenn Slater, appeared in the 2008 NAMT Festival. The show is now preparing for its world premiere in a co-production with NAMT member the 5th Avenue Theatre and Asolo Rep Theatre. This month, we caught up with the writers to hear about the work they’ve done on the piece since the Festival leading up to this premiere.

What was the response to Beatsville like after the 2008 Festival?
We had a great Festival—our cast was spectacular, and made the show look fantastic—and we received a hugely gratifying outpouring of interest from various theatres and organizations who wanted to help us take the next step forward. We sort of fumbled the ball a little—we felt that we still had some writing to do, and weren’t sure what that next step should be, and then we got swept up in other projects. Luckily for us, when we were finally ready to move forward, there was still a lot of goodwill in the community from people who remembered it from the Festival, and they proved instrumental in helping us get the show back on track.

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NAMT News

Musical Theatre Students Are Becoming Triple Threats

January 6, 2017

NAMT members Baldwin Wallace University, Pace University, and the NYU Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program are discussed in this great article from American Theatre that looks at how musical theatre training is changing to meet the demands of the current marketplace.

Festival Show Update: The Fabulous Fitches

January 3, 2017

The Fabulous Fitches (formerly known as Palm Beach), written by Robert Cary, Benjamin Feldman and David Gursky, has evolved quite a bit since it was presented in NAMT’s Festival in 2001. This month, we checked in with the team to see where the piece is now.

What was the initial reaction to The Fabulous Fitches when it was first presented at the 2001 Festival?
The response was wonderful, and it actually brought the show to the attention of William Morris (now WME), who have represented it ever since.
What developmental work have you done on the show since it was at the NAMT Festival?
The show has had a production (at La Jolla Playhouse in 2005) and several developmental readings, based on what we learned and wanted to explore further in the show.
How has the show evolved in the years since the Festival, and what message does the show hold for audiences today?
The Fabulous Fitches was, in its original form, an homage to screwball Hollywood comedies of the 1930s, in the vein of Bringing Up Baby or My Man Godfrey. Over time, however, we realized that—while the screwball genre helped dictate the tone of the show—what we were really talking about was the American Dream: who gets to live it? And to whom is it denied? We began to ask ourselves, “Who really has a place at the American table?”. And then we put that question through the lens of a brisk 30s-style musical comedy, played very much for laughs.
What have been some of the joys and challenges for you as a writing team as the show has seen more development?
It’s always a joy to continue to have a relationship with a show that is so personal, for all three of us, and which is also the first thing we wrote as a team. The challenges have to do with the fact that the show isn’t really like a lot of other shows, and thus harder to “pitch”—it’s funny and accessible, but it’s political, too, and it doesn’t come with a pre-sold “name brand” which makes it immediately clear what to expect. On the other hand, that may prove one of its assets; it’s very much its own thing.
What would you like to see as a next step for the show?
The show imagines a tremendously wealthy titan of industry, who controls many brands, deciding to run for political office despite having no real qualifications other than his fame and money—seriously. So, despite the first draft being written several years ago, it’s become surprisingly (I’d even say shockingly) topical. It’s also about people thinking one group can lay exclusive claim to “real” American values; again, more topical than we ever imagined it would be by 2016. We had a wonderful developmental reading with Josh Prince directing this summer, and we’d like to find a home for a full production. It seems like the right time, to say the least.

For more information about The Fabulous Fitches, contact Susan Weaving at WME.
Photo: Leo McKnight’s chorus girls (L-R: Taryn Darr, Jennifer Evans and Erica Piccininni) entertain the crowd in The Fabulous Fitches, the world premiere production at La Jolla Playhouse. Photo credit: Ken Howard

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Broadway's Most Sought-After Young Star Is A NAMT Member

January 3, 2017

The NAMT staff had heard of the legendary Broadway baby Twan Baker, of course, but until last week’s in-depth New York Times profile of him, we didn’t realize he had such deep NAMT roots! From the Times:

NAMT in the News

NEA Awards Grants to NAMT and Our Members

December 13, 2016

The National Endowment for the Arts has recently announced that it will award over $30 million in grants to fund artistic projects and research, with $3,505,000 going to companies working in the field of Theater & Musical Theatre. Many NAMT members have been selected to receive grants in this cycle, including $55,000 to NAMT itself, in support of our Festival of New Musicals and Fall Conference. Congratulations to those members receiving grants in this round of NEA funding, including:
The 5th Avenue Theatre
Ars Nova
Atlantic Theater Company
The Lark
Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma
The Old Globe
Playwrights Horizons
Portland Center Stage
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
Village Theatre
ZACH Theatre
Congratulations to all, and thank you to the NEA for supporting arts organizations throughout the country! For a full list of the recipients, visit the NEA’s website. Watch the NEA’s video above to learn more about their impact on the arts in America.

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Support NAMT While You Shop This Holiday Season!

December 8, 2016

Did you know that you can help support NAMT simply by doing your holiday shopping online? Just use this link to access Amazon (or go to smile.amazon.com and select NAMT as your charitable organization), and shop as you normally would. Amazon will donate 0.5% of the price of your purchases to NAMT — it doesn’t cost you (or the merchants you’re purchasing from) a thing!

But wait, there’s more! Buying New York theatre tickets? Head to Givenik for discount offers, and we get 5%! They also have group rates on theatre, opera, and even sports!

Finally, if you find yourself with some free time and some opinions over the holiday break, why not fill out a few market research surveys at Opinions For Good? Op4G will pay you for your time (usually just a few minutes and a few clicks), and you decide how much to share with NAMT. It’s easy and fun; everyone wins!

Of course, if you just want to remember NAMT in your year-end giving, you can give here now, or check out all of the ways to support us (including our Players Program and corporate event sponsorship opportunities) throughout the year.
All of us at NAMT wish you the best for this holiday season, and a wonderful start to 2016!

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