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Overview

October 7 - 8

New World Stages 340 W 50th Street, New York, NY

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

Festival Program

Musicals

The Break Up Notebook: A Lesbian Musical

Director
Victoria Bussert

Music Director
David Manning

Cast
Hunter Bell, Jodi Dominick, Donna English, Ann Harada, Christine Lakin, Beth Malone, Jacqueline Maloney and Kelly Sullivan

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

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.

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Casey At The Bat

Director
Marilyn Magness

Music Director
David Shenton

Cast
Scott Barnhardt, Rachel Coloff, Holly Davis, Sarah Jane Everman, Matt Gumley, John Jellison, Eric Leviton, Adam Monley, Patrick Richwood, Robb Sapp, Sarah Solie, Will Swenson and Tommar Wilson

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

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.

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The Chocolate Tree


Cady Huffman

Director
Igor Goldin

Music Director
Ben Cohn

Cast
Brian D'Addario, Danielle Freid, Curtis Holbrook, Felicia Ricci, Christopher Sieber, Jason Michael Snow, Marlayna Syms and Richard True

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

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).

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Finishing Arthur (fka Writing Arthur)

Music Director
Brian Nash

Cast
Courtney Balan, Jason Dula, Ana Gasteyer, Malcolm Gets, Michele Gray, Colin Hanlon, Heather Hawkins, Victor Hawks, Henry Hodges, Kevin Kern, Cassady Leonard, Sean McCourt, Michael Mendiola, Pamela Myers, Kelli O'Hara, Kate Pazakis, Sascha Peralta-Ramos, Halle Petro, Liz Power, Caesar Samayoa, Charly Seamon, Brian Sears, Tim Shew and Tom Stuart

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

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 5th Avenue Theatre and the Village Theatre, and received a commendation from the Antoine D’Exupery Foundation for his adaptation of The Little Prince.

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The Gypsy King

Director
Marc Robin

Music Director
Craig Barna

Cast
Sebastian Arcelus, Megan Arnoldy, Michael Daly, Mark Fisher, Kathy Fitzgerald, Stephanie Iannarino, Paul Kandel, Geoffrey Lind, Lea Michele, Christine Mild, John O'Creagh, Ed Romanoff, Nathan Scherich, Nathaniel Shaw and Max Von Essen

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

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.

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Kingdom

Director
Jose Zayas

Cast
Marisa Echeverria, Ruth Pagan, Gerardo Rodriguez, Jon Rua, Renoly Santiago, Will Sierra, Renaldy Smith and Robin de Jesus

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

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.

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The Story Of My Life

Director
Richard Maltby, Jr.

Cast
Will Chase and Jeffrey Kuhn

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

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.

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Tinyard Hill

Director
Casey Hushion

Music Director
Gillian Berkowitz

Cast
Colin Donnell, Heather Ferguson, Michael Lanning and Sally Mayes

Genre & Style:

Synopsis

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).

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Songwriters Showcase

BEAUTIFUL CRIMINALS by AnnMarie Milazzo and Leigh Silverman
THE BLONDE STREAK by Dan Lipton and David Rossmer
BROTHER WOLF by Preston Lane and Laurelyn Dossett
EMILY by Richard Ouzounian and Marek Norman
HOW CAN YOU RUN WITH A SHELL ON YOUR BACK? By Michael Mahler and Alan Schmuckler
LUCKY LINDY by Barry Harman and Keith Herrmann
SAINT HEAVEN by Martin Casella, Keith Gordon and Steve Lyons
SECONDHAND LIONS by Rupert Holmes, Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner

Writers & Artists

Mark Allen

Music, Tinyard Hill

Broadway: Gettin’ The Band Back Together (music & lyrics) with Ken Davenport (Belasco Theatre; John Rando, dir.) Regional: Tinyard Hill (music) with Tommy Newman (NAMT Festival 2007, Human Race Theatre 2008, Theatreworks, Palo Alto 2008, Goodspeed Musicals), Band Geeks! (music) with Newman, Gaby Alter, and Gordon Greenberg (NAMT Festival 2009, Goodspeed Musicals 2010) and The Joker’s Game (music) with Louis St. Louis and Jim Racheff (Beijing, China 2010). Mark has also has created award winning music for TV, Film and dozens of TV commercials. Mark is a past recipient of the Jonathan Larson Grant (2009), Frederick Lowe Award (2007) and ASCAP Max Dreyfus Award (2005).

David Austin

Book & Lyrics & Music, Finishing Arthur (fka Writing Arthur)

Neil Bartram

Lyrics & Music, The Story Of My Life

Neil is the composer and lyricist of Broadway’s The Story of My Life with book writer Brian Hill (4 Drama Desk Award nominations including Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics). His musical The Theory of Relativity, written specifically for and about college age students, had its US premiere at Goodspeed Musicals in 2015 with its Off West End premiere in the same year. Other works include an adaptation of The Adventures of Pinocchio, a musical adaptation of Michel Tremblay’s Les Belles-Soeurs, You Are Here, Senza Luce and a musical based on Ray Bradbury’s classic novel Something Wicked This Way Comes (11 Barrymore Award nominations). Neil’s new score for Shakespeare in Love was written for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Asolo Rep productions. His musical adaptation of Disney’s Bedknobs & Broomsticks recently enjoyed a successful UK tour. Cast albums include The Story of My Life and The Theory of Relativity (PS Classics).

Tom Child

Book & Lyrics, Casey At The Bat

Patricia Cotter

Book, The Break Up Notebook: A Lesbian Musical

Patricia Cotter: Plays: Rules of Comedy The Humana Festival of New American Plays, Humana Tens 2015; The Break Up Notebook (A GLAAD Award nominee); Three; Best/Worst; (Apartment A Theatre Company, Venice, CA.) Musicals (librettist/adaptations) include: Rocket Science: A Musical, Richard Rodgers Development Award 2010. Readings: Playwrights Horizons (directed by Kathleen Marshall). Productions: The Village Theatre, Seattle, WA The Break Up Notebook: A Musical, (based on her play) Readings: The Vineyard Theatre, NYC. Productions: Hudson Theater, LA; Diversionary Theater, San Diego; The Beck Center, Cleveland, Asbury Park, NJ, and Pandora Theatre, Louisville; Mulan, Jr. based on the Disney film, Mulan. Patricia ‘s new musical Ladykillers was developed at the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. Patricia is an Emmy Award-winning, Groundling Theatre Alum.

Gordon Goodwin

Music, Casey At The Bat

Brian Hill

Book, The Story Of My Life

Brian’s work with composer/lyricist Neil Bartram includes Bedknobs & Broomsticks (UK tour), The Story of My Life (Broadway – 4 Drama Desk Award nominations including Outstanding Book and Outstanding Musical), Something Wicked This Way Comes (11 Barrymore Award nominations), The Theory of Relativity (Goodspeed Musicals and Off West End), the English-language adaptation of Les Belles-Soeurs, You Are Here (Southwark Playhouse UK), Senza Luce and a fresh take on The Adventures of Pinocchio. He wrote the new book for the Old Globe’s production of NBCUniversal’s October Sky and the revised book for the Goodman Theatre’s acclaimed production of Brigadoon.

Directing credits include work with Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Segal Centre, Goodspeed Musicals and The Stratford Festival of Canada. For Disney Theatrical Productions he was resident director of the Toronto and Broadway companies of The Lion King and associate director of the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid.

Aaron Jafferis

Book & Lyrics, Kingdom

Stuck Elevator at ACT (SF Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award, NEA, Creative Capital, NEFA National Theatre Project, Edgerton New American Play Award);Kingdom at The Old Globe (NAMT Fest ’07, Richard Rodgers Award, NYMF Most Promising New Musical); Shakespeare: The Remix (TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, Capital Rep, Zach Scott). Musicals developed by the Public Theater, Sundance Theatre Lab, Atlantic Theater, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and many others. A former Open Rap Slam champion at the National Poetry Slam Championships, Aaron teaches poetry at a children’s hospital in his hometown of New Haven. BA: UC Berkeley. MFA: NYU GMTWP.

Tommy Newman

Book & Lyrics, Tinyard Hill

Tommy is a published playwright, composer and lyricist from Alabama and a 2013 ASCAP Foundation Cole Porter Award Winner. He is a recipient of an Anna Sosenko Assist Trust Grant, and a 2014 Kennedy Center ACTF National Musical Theatre Award Winner. His works include: The Single Girl’s Guide with Gordon Greenberg (NAMT (2013), Band Geeks! (Published by MTI, NAMT Fest ‘09), Tinyard Hill with Mark Allen (NAMT Fest ‘07). Off Broadway: We the People: America Rocks (Theatreworks, USA), El Otro Oz with Jaime Lozano (Theatreworks, USA) and 29 with Gaby Alter. Recent works: The Teacher from the Black Lagoon and Other Stories (Theatreworks, USA), The Odyssey Suite, Savage, Jenny’s Damned Ex, and With Bell On. He holds a BS in Music Education from Troy University and an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU. Tommy is a full-time professor with Troy University’s Department of Theatre and Dance in Troy, AL.

Marshall Pailet

Book & Music, The Chocolate Tree

Marshall is a writer and director for theater, and is the proud owner of a wildly untrained, but ultimately well-meaning terrier-mix. He directed, composed and co-wrote the Off-Broadway musicals Who’s Your Baghdaddy, which was a two-time NY Times Critic’s Pick, and Triassic Parq, which went on to win the Ovation Award for Best Musical for its LA premiere. Other select writing includes Loch Ness (Best Musical/Best Director ’19 BWW Awards); Claudio Quest (six NYMF Awards for Excellence); Shrek the Halls (DreamWorks Theatricals); The Magic School Bus (TheaterWorks USA). Film Veggie Tales: Noah’s Ark starring Wayne Brady (Original Songs). He’s written and directed for RKO Stage, Atlantic Theater Company, PBS and lots of other cool places. Graduate of Yale University. www.marshallpailet.com

A.D. Penedo

Book & Lyrics, The Chocolate Tree

Produced Musicals:
• Who’s Your Baghdaddy? or How I Started the Iraq War – The Actors Temple Theater, New York (OBA Nominee, Best Off-Broadway Musical 2015; New York Times Critics Pick, 2015; Manhattan Digest’s Best of 2015 Theater).
• Loch Ness – Chance Theater, Anaheim, CA (Best Musical Production of 2015, The OC Weekly; Best Production 2015, Orange Curtain Review).
• The Chocolate Tree – Stages Rep, Houston; ACE Theater, Eugene, Oregon; NAMT; NYMF.
• Where It’s At – Yale 2008; NY Fringe Festival 2005; Princeton 2005
• Cratchett Farm – Dillons, New York, 2003; ASCAP 2003

Produced Plays:
• The Three Times She Knocked – FringeNYC (Best Playwrighting).
• Dance of the Fireflies – Payan Theater, New York; Yale.
• Thursday – Yale
• Off the Record (One Act) – New York

www.adpenedo.com

Randy Rogel

Book & Lyrics & Music, The Gypsy King

Randy Rogel has won three Emmy Awards (nominated for ten), a Peabody Award, two Annie Awards, three Leo Awards, and the Ovation Award. He is currently co-writing lyrics with Jerry Zucker and Tom Kitt for the new musical, ‘Intermission’; Chris Gattelli is choreographing. Randy co-wrote songs for the 20th Century Fox movie ‘Rio 2’ and was show runner on the animated series ‘1001 Nights.’ Randy spent nine years on staff at Warner Bros Studio as an original writer on the Batman series and then joined the staff of Steven Spielberg’s Animaniacs. At the Walt Disney Company, he was writer and composer on the animated movies Peter Pan – Return to Neverland, Cinderella II, Cinderella III, Winnie the Pooh, Around the World in Eighty Days, The Three Musketeers, and 101 Dalmatians II. For Walt Disney Television, he wrote and composed for Tarzan, The Three Caballeros, House of Mouse, and the 7D.

Lori Scarlett

Lyrics & Music, The Break Up Notebook: A Lesbian Musical

Lori Scarlett is an award-winning composer/lyricist (Ovation, Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle, and Backstage West Garland Awards for THE BREAKUP NOTEBOOK, book by Patricia Cotter.) Her work has been performed on both coasts and around the country. Lori is the composer/lyricist of FUCKING HIPSTERS (book by Keythe Farley, co-composed with John Ballinger), which premiered at the Signature Theater in New York City as a 2011 NYMF Next Link Selection. Her critically acclaimed first musical SNEAUX! THE SIN-SATIONAL GOTHIC FIGURESKATING MUSICAL was directed by Andy Fickman and ran for seven months at L.A.’s Matrix Theater. Lori, along with co-composer David Manning, was recently nominated for a 2013 Los Angeles Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Score for JUSTIN LOVE (Book by Patricia Cotter and David Elzer) following a much-lauded run at the Celebration Theater.

Kirby Ward

Book, The Gypsy King

Mr. Ward has written for TV, stage and film. He has headlined with symphonies all over the world and created the role of Bobby Child in London’s West End production of Crazy For You in 1993. He’s a director and choreographer of musicals such as She Loves Me,Thoroughly Modern Millie and Big River all across the United States. He staged Debbie Reynolds’ and Donald O’Connor’s nightclub acts, and was instrumental in the translation and direction of both the Chinese and Korean productions of Crazy For You in Seoul and Beijing. He was co-creator of the musical The Gypsy King, which was presented at the Village Theatre in 2010. His film, Down in the Mouth, received the Best Short Film award at the Kent Film Festival in Connecticut, and was an “Official Selection” at five other national and international film festivals.

Ian Williams

Music, Kingdom

This page was last updated on 07/18/2018. Some musical and writer information may be more recent.