INTO THE SUN to Play NYMF

INTO THE SUN follows three young English friends who go off to the trenches of World War I. It is the saga of the soldiers, their families, and their lovers - and the way that war changes a generation. The protagonist distills the arc of his generation, moving from initial enthusiasm for the war to public protest against it. Loosely based on the lives of several British War Poets, the musical features some songs that take their lyrics directly from poems by Wilfred Owen, Rupert Brooke, Siegfried Sassoon and others. The score blends the styles of pop, rock, and contemporary folk.

INTO THE SUN stars Patrick Dunn, Lora Lee Gayer, Charlie Levy, Johnnie Moore Hawkins, Eric Meyers, Ruby Rakos, Noah Zachary, Drew Arisco, Parker Drown, Kelly McIntyre, and Kate Moore as men and women whose lives are indelibly shaken by the Great War. The reading is directed by Joe Barros, founder of the NY Theatre Barn and the Associate Director of Gigi, which recently completed its run on Broadway. The Musical Director is Drew Wutke ( Fiasco Theatre's Into the Woods, MCC's MISCAST Gala 2015).

Mike Gubser and Paolo Prandoni co-wrote the book, music and lyrics. Together, they make up the award-winning rock band Chico Motel, which has released two albums, Cheesemaker and Transatlantic. Gubser is a composer, writer, and professor of European history, including World War I, at James Madison University in Virginia. Prandoni is a composer, engineer and entrepreneur in Paris. He runs a technology startup and teaches Digital Signal Processing at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival nurtures the creation, production, and public presentation of stylistically, thematically, and culturally diverse new musicals to ensure the future vitality of musical theatre.

Now in its twelfth year, the Festival is the premier musical theatre 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 theatre 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 20 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 Fuzzrocket, PRG, TheaterMania, Clear Channel Spectacolor, and The Village Voice, 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 Theatre 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 1. Individual tickets go on sale June 15.

The 2015 New York Musical Theatre Festival will take place July 7-27. For more information, please visit: www.nymf.org