7th Annual Festival of New Musicals

Craig Bohmler is a pianist and composer whose works have been frequently performed in Europe, America and Japan. Mr. Bohmler has composed four operas, twelve musicals, 200 art songs and numerous choral, orchestral, and band works. His musicals ENTER THE GUARDSMAN (which won first prize in the International Musical of the Year competition and was nominated for an Olivier Award for “best musical”) and GUNMETAL BLUES and have both played in London and Off-Broadway; both past participants in NAMT’s New Works Festival. He has written operas for Houston Grand Opera, Opera San Jose, and Arizona Opera, which premiered RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE in 2017 and remounted it in 2020. The recipient of several grants (including three NEA grants), his works are published by Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW), Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Samuel French, and Dramatic Publishing, and recorded by Columbus, Centaur, Original Cast, and BMS records.

Plays: The Irish Curse (Off Broadway, London, Edinburgh, Dublin, FringeNYC- Outstanding Playwriting Award); Scituate, George Bush Goes To Hell, Grand Junction, Desert Fire, Beautiful Dreamer, Paydirt, Mates (L.A. Weekly, Drama-Logue Awards).  Musicals: Saint Heaven, Paper Moon (NAMT Festival 1995), Happy Holidays, Taking Care of Mrs. Carroll, DOO-DAH!. Screenplays: One Night Stand.  Upcoming: Free Money¸ musical about the invention of credit cards; Miss Maude, a play about photographer Eugene Smith; Tom’s Dad, a film for director Lass Hallstrom starring Patrick Dempsey; and film Busted Jesus Comix.  Taught playwriting at Cal Arts and Harvey Milk High School in NYC.  WGA, Dramatists Guild, SAG and AEA.

David Evans received a Drama Desk Nomination for his score for BIRDS OF PARADISE (written with Winnie Holzman and directed by Arthur Laurents). Also, CHILDREN’S LETTERS TO GOD (Off Broadway), BYE, BYE BIG GUY (New York Fringe Festival) and LOVE COMICS (George Street Playhouse). Songs in A…MY NAME IS ALICE, and on SESAME STREET and SQUARE ONE TV. Scores for animated films, two shows for TADA, and nine shows for TheatreworksUSA. Currently Associate Conductor of WICKED on Broadway, conducting credits include FLOWER DRUM SONG, BELLS ARE RINGING, MARIE CHRISTINE, HELLO AGAIN, HELLO MUDDAH, HELLO FADDUH, SILLS AND COMPANY and AS THOUSANDS CHEER.

ELLEN FITZHUGH. Lyrics. Musicals: With the inimitable Harold Prince: Grind with Larry Grossman, Diamondsand Paradise Found; Herringbone with Tom Cone and Skip Kennon; Big Blonde with Kennon, developed at Playwrights Horizons and The Public Theater; Paper Moon with Marty Casella and Grossman; Muscle with James Lapine and William Finn; book and lyrics to Los Otros with Michael John LaChiusa, directed at the Mark Taper by Graciela Daniele and at Everyman Theater by Noah Himmelstein. Other: two lyrics within Adam Guettel’s Myths and Hymns; additional lyrics for Anthony Newley’s Chaplin; songs for sequels of The Brave Little Toaster with Finn; title song for MGM’s That’s Dancing with Grossman and Henry Mancini; songs for Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective with Grossman and Mancini. Member of Dramatists Guild. Emmy, Drama Desk, and Tony nominated.

Chair Grad. Musical Theatre Writing Program Tisch NYU, Assoc Dean of Fine Arts Tisch NYU. Lyricist librettist of Ballad of Little Jo, In This House, Different Fields, Casanova Returns. Winner Kleban for Bet Lyrics, Richard Rodgers Award. Gilman Goazalez. Chicago Jeff Award.

Mark has written the plays FREUD’S LAST SESSION, DANCING LESSONS, CAMPING WITH HENRY AND TOM, THE GOD COMMITTEE, SCOTT AND HEM, OUT OF GAS ON LOVERS LEAP AND BECOMING DR. RUTH. He has written the musicals GIFTS OF THE MAGI, JOHNNY PYE, JOSEPH AND MARY, THE BOOK OF THE DUN COW AND JACK’S HOLIDAY with Randy Courts. Films include Carroll Ballard’s DUMA and the documentary he directed and produced, MY DOG, An Unconditional Love Story, with Richard Gere, Glenn Close, Edie Falco and others. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Writers Guild East, an alumnus of New Dramatists and a Board Member and Associate Artist at the Barrington Stage Company.