FREEDOM RIDERS, Starring Mykal Kilgore, Opens Tonight at NYMF

New York Musical Festival (NYMF) presents FREEDOM RIDERS from tonight, July 27th, through August 2nd at June Havoc Theatre (312 W 36th St #1, New York, NY 10018). The official opening is set for tonight, July 27th, at 8PM.

FREEDOM RIDERS: a new musical tells the story of Civil Rights activists as they risk their lives riding interstate buses in the extremely segregated South. Their end goal: to bring attention to the injustice of segregation in an action that would show the world an image of 'burning bus America' whose existence most Americans wanted to ignore.

Mykal Kilgore will originate the role of John Lewis in his NYMF debut! He was most recently seen in The Wiz Live on NBC. Other credits: MOTOWN The Musical, Hair (Broadway), Freckleface Strawberry (Off-Broadway), The Book of Mormon (1st National Tour). Mykal has performed internationally with "Postmodern Jukebox," and to sold out audiences at Joe's Pub, Roseland, Birdland, The Laurie Beechman Theatre, The Kennedy Center, and in his own cabarets "MYKAL@54Below" and "MYKAL@TheApolloMusicCafe." For more about Mykal, visit MYKALKILGORE.COM.

To book tickets, visit nymf.org and freedomridersmusical.com for more information.

The New York Musical Festival nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theater. Now in its thirteenth year, the Festival is the premier musical theater event in the world. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theater fans. More than 90 Festival shows have gone on to productions on and Off-Broadway, in regional theaters in all 50 states, and in more than 24 countries worldwide. Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theatre, ensuring the future of this essential art form." NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2015 is sponsored by The City of New York Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment, Fuzzrocket, PRG, TheaterMania, and Clear Channel Spectacolor, and is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency. The NYMF PASS is a great way to experience The New York Musical Festival. With a NYMF PASS, you can get into the theater before individual ticket holders. Passes also offer the exclusive ability to book tickets before they go on sale to the public. NYMF Passholder ticket booking begins June 6. Individual tickets go on sale June 20.The 2016 New York Musical Festival will take place July 11 - August 7. For more information, visit www.nymf.org.