NYMF Success Stories
Altar Boyz
After premiering at NYMF 2004 with a sold-out and extended run, Altar Boyz transferred to New World Stages in March 2005 and after more than 1,000 performances continues to play to packed houses. If you're lucky, you'll catch a glimpse of the Altar Boyz van tooling around Mannhattan "saving souls."
The musical, about a fictional Christian boy band, is directed by Stafford Arima and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. Altar Boyz has music and lyrics by Gary Adler and Michael Patrick Walker with a book by Kevin Del Aguila, based on a concept by Marc Kessler and Ken Davenport.
Altar Boyz embarked on a 30-week national tour and has a resident production in Chicago to spread their message of faith and funk to the "Altarholics" around the country. It's had productions in Hungary and Korea, too, and is licensed for stock and amateur productions by Rodgers and Hammerstein Theatricals.
The Big Voice: God or Merman?
An autobiographical musical exploring the relationship between co-writers and co-stars Jim Brochu and Steve Schalchlin, The Big Voice: God or Merman? hilariously proves that showbiz is as much a calling as the priesthood. This high energy, razzle-dazzle show chronicles the lives of a Baptist from Arkansas and a Catholic from Brooklyn who find eternal salvation in the temple of musical theatre.
The musical, which premiered at NYMF 2004, returned to New York in 2007 for an off-Broadway run at The Actors Temple Theatre that lasted several months.
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Captain Louie
This delightful children's musical, featuring a score by Stephen Schwartz and a libretto by Anthony Stein, was part of our "Readings, Concerts and Cabarets" series in 2004 and played off-Broadway at The Little Shubert in November 2006.
The musical embarked on a national tour reaching California, Oregon, Missouri, Arkansas, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.
Feeling Electric [now titled Next to Normal]
Edgy, darkly funny and brutally honest, this powerful rock-opera chronicles one family's personal journey to cure a mother's long term depression. A tuneful energetic rock score drives this adventourous and highly theatrical peice.
Feeling Electric, now titled Next to Normal, recently played an extended engagement at Off-Broadway's second Stage (nominated for three Lortel Awards), and will be part of the 2008-1009 season at Arena Stage in Arlington, Virginia. Many credible actors, such as Joe Cassidy, Amy Spanger, Annaleigh Ashford, Brian Darcy James, Alice Ripley, and Adam Rapp, have been involved in the show throughout it's development.
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
A country-rock and blues musical about agoraphobia, adultery, '80s nostalgia, spray cheese, road kill, hysterical pregnancy, a broken electric chair, kleptomania, strippers, flan & disco, The Great American Trailer Pfeatures music by David Nehls and a book by Betsy Kelso (who also directed the show).
This fun lovin' and free-wheelin' musical packed houses at NYMF 2004 and opened off-Broadway at New World Stages less than a year later, where it ran for 121 performances. A cast recording of the off-Broadway production was released by Ghostlight Records.
The show (which is now licensed by Dramatists Play Service) has been performed by numerous theaters around the country over the past few years, and in January 2008 launched a national tour.
Gutenberg! The Musical
Romance! Danger! Even Despair! Not to mention a Printing Press!
Johann Gutenberg invented the printing press in 1450, so Bud and Doug wrote a musical about him. They don't have a cast, a budget, or a producer. . . but they have a dream!
Gutenberg! The Musical! was co-written by Anthony King and Scott Brown (winners of the 2006 NYMF Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Book Writing) and starred Broadway veterans Christopher Fitzgerald and Jeremy Shamos (winners of the 2006 NYMF Award for Outstanding Individual Performance).
A standout hit at the 2006 festival, Gutenberg! transferred almost directly from NYMF to a four-week limited run off-Broadway at 59E59 Theaters. Gutenberg! followed up its engagement at 59E59 by transferring again to Off-Broadway's Actors' Playhouse, where it ran for four more months. The off-Broadway prodcution was nominated for an Outer Critic's Circle Award, a Lortel Award, and two Drama Desk awards.
Meet John Doe
Based on the Frank Capra film, Meet John Doe tells the tale of a Depression-era reporter who pumps new life into a dying newspaper with a hoax that ignites a national frenzy to save 'John Doe' from jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. The musical, written by Andrew Gerle (music and book) and Eddie Sugarman (lyrics and book), with additional story by Matt August, premiered at the 2004 Festival.
In 2007, Meet John Doe received productions at Goodspeed Musicals' Norma Terris Theatre (featuring Donna Lynne Champlin, who recreated her acclaimed performance from NYMF), and at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Nerds:// A Musical Software Satire
From the creators of the Off-Broadway smash hit, The Bomb-itty of Errors, (Jordan Allen-Dutton & Erik Weiner) and composer Hal Goldberg comes a funny and irreverent musical take on the parallel stories of computer pioneers Bill Gates and Steve Jobs as they blaze from "garage inventors" to warring titans of the computer revolution. With its rollicking tunes and brilliantly off-beat humor, Nerds:// A Musical Software Satire celebrates the inner geek in us all!
Nerds://, which began its life in our 2005 Festival, was produced in 2007 at the Philadelphia Theatre Company and won Barrymore Awards for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Original Music. An upcoming Broadway production has been announced.
[title of show]
[title of show], which follows two young writers as they "race to write and submit a show to the theatre festival" weeks before the deadline, was born out of just that: Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell's race to complete an entry for The New York Musical Theatre Festival.
After playing to full houses in our inaugural festival, the musical transferred to off-Broadway's Vineyard Theater in March 2006, where it extended its run three times until April 30th. The musical made a return engagement in July 2006 for an 8-week limited engagement, and a cast recording was made of the Vineyard Theater production by Ghostlight Records.
[title of show] won 3 OBIE Awards and will open on Broadway on July 17, 2008.
Shout! The Mod Musical
Shout! flips through the years like a musical magazine, tracking five young women as they come of age during the liberating days of the 1960s that made England swing.
Originally presented in our 2004 festival, Shout! opened off-Broadway in July 2006 at The Julia Miles Theatre, where it ran for nearly six months. Since then, the show has continuously played across the country on its national tour and in other productions around the world. A cast recording is available from Rhino Records.
And many, many more, all over the world...
ALABAMA
-Captain Louie (’04) National Tour
