Dance Series

NYMF's stepped it up and danced its way into its fifth year, with our third "dance drama" commission and a special venue dedicated entirely to exploring the fusion of dance and musical theatre as we know it… and we've got just the hybrids to show for it. Sit back and relax as our artists take on superheroes, insane asylums, Milton - and Leona Helmsley! ...5, 6, 7, 8!

Click on any show for more detailed information or to buy tickets.

The Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen

Co-Created by Mark Yonally, Andrew Pepoy, and Chicago Tap Theatre

When Superheroes, live theater and tap dancing collide, the result is Chicago Tap Theatre's Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen. With moments of intense action, irresistable humor and heartfelt emotion, this is the show that proves that tap dance is the perfect medium for theatrical expression. Follow the exploits of Elizabeth, as she and her best friend Daphne become the Hourglass and the Secondhand. They duke it out with the nefarious Conductor and her violin-playing Trio of Terror. Ultimately, Elizabeth's boyfriend, the vile Nick Prickley, gets possession of the source of the Conductor's skills, the last siiver of wood from the Tree of Knowledge, which grants great and terrible powers... The Hourglass and the Poisoned Pen is produced by Chicago Tap Theatre, www.chicagotaptheatre.com and the new York Musical Theatre Festival. The Hourglass features a wide range of music, with each character represented by a different style of music and includes Mozart, Sia, The Ditty Bops, Shiny Toy Guns, and more.

Schedule: Sep 27th, 8:00 pm, Sep 28th, 1:00 pm, Sep 28th, 4:00 pm at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center

Sophia's Fall

Music and Lyrics by Benjamin Birney
Book and Lyrics by Rob Seitelman

Sophia's Fall is an intense dance/rock retelling of the creation story... with a twist. Sophia, the feminine divine and Lucifer's lover, drives the action and music of the story, with a supporting cast of angels, devils and two curious humans. A five-piece rock band and fluid, modern dance choreography round out a dark, tuneful score. To download the complete demo soundtrack and for lots more information on Sophia's Fall, visit www.sophiasfall.com

Schedule: Sep 18th, 8:00 pm, Sep 19th, 1:00 pm, Sep 19th, 4:30 pm, Sep 20th, 9:00 pm at 37 Arts - Theatre C

Ward 9

Story by Gregory Victor and Matt Williams
Music by Ludwig van Beethoven
Choreographed by Matt Williams
Directed by Mark Robinson & Matt Williams

IS THERE A LINK BETWEEN GENIUS AND MADNESS? Set to an all-Beethoven score, WARD 9 is an exhilarating, tragicomical story told entirely through dance. Committed to this mythic asylum are history's most notoriously insane artists and intellectuals, including: Vincent van Gogh, Howard Hughes, Vivien Leigh, Bobby Fischer, Sylvia Plath, Ludwig van Beethoven and Vaslav Nijinsky! See what happens when they clash with the Head Nurse as she attempts to "cure" them of their creative madness. But will she do more harm than good? Is their madness the key to their genius? Straitjackets, padded rooms, and electric shock treatment are the orders of the day. Strap yourself in and get committed, because it's medication time on WARD 9!

Schedule: Sep 18th, 8:00 pm, Sep 20th, 5:00 pm, Sep 21st, 1:00 pm, Sep 21st, 7:00 pm at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center

Wild About Harry

Book by Susan DiLallo
Music by Dan Acquisto
Directed by Elizabeth Lucas
Choreographed by Joshua Bergasse, Daryl Gray, Maurice Brandon Curry, Jeff Shade and Shea Sullivan

This unique, danced-through musical, created especially for NYMF '08 and choreographed by five of today's most talented young choreographers, begins where the tabloids left off. A completely fresh look at Leona Helmsley, one of NYC's most colorful characters, and the one man who loved her, the many others who did not, and her dog...who inherited 12 million bucks.

Schedule: Sep 19th, 8:00 pm, Sep 20th, 2:00 pm, Sep 20th, 8:00 pm, Sep 21st, 4:00 pm, Sep 28th, 7:30 pm at Manhattan Movement & Arts Center