NYMF Awards for Excellence Winners Announced

The New York Musical Theatre Festival has announced the winners of the 2006 NYMF Awards for Excellence, who will be recognized as part of the NYMF 2006 Awards Gala honoring Kevin McCollum, producer of The Drowsy Chaperone, Rent, Avenue Q, [title of show], and the upcoming High Fidelity and In The Heights.

The Drowsy Chaperone's Bob Martin will serve as Master of Ceremonies for the evening, which will feature special performances by fellow Drowsy cast members Sutton Foster and Beth Leavel, Anthony Rapp (Rent), John Tartaglia (Avenue Q), the cast of [title of show], cast members from the NYMF 2006 Awards for Excellence winning, and other celebrity guests. 

The evening's performance will be directed by Casey Hushion, with Lighting Design by Jason Lyons and Sound Design by ACME Sound Partners. The event will take place at the Hudson Theater (145 West 44th Street) on Sunday, November 12 at 6:00 PM.

"From day one, it has been our plan to have awards such as these for shows in the Festival," said Kris Stewart, NYMF Founder and Executive Director.  "There is such a volume of good work happening that it is tremendously important to find a way to recognize, acknowledge and congratulate the best of it."

Tickets to the NYMF Gala, including the welcome reception, dinner, and performance, begin at $300.  Tables are $3000, with VIP tables (including admission to the VIP after-party at the Hudson Hotel Library Bar) available for $5000.  A limited number of $85 tickets have recently been put on sale, including balcony seating for the performance and a pre-show reception.  For more information or to purchase tickets, please visit www.nymf.org or phone (212) 664-0979.

The NYMF 2006 Awards for Excellence honorees are:

VERIZON "BEST OF FEST" AUDIENCE PRIZE:
Smoking Bloomberg (Book, Music & Lyrics by David Cornue, Sam Holtzapple, Warren Loy, and Chris Todd)
RUNNER UP:  The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun (Book & Additional Lyrics by Blair Fell, Music and Lyrics by Andy Monroe)

MOST PROMISING NEW MUSICAL:
Kingdom (Book and Lyrics by Aaron Jafferis, Music by Ian Williams)
HONORABLE MENTION:  Common Grounds (Book by Sammy Buck, Music by Doug Katsaros) and The Screams of Kitty Genovese (Book and Lyrics by David
Simpatico, Music by Will Todd)

THEATER FOR THE AMERICAN MUSICAL PRIZE: – presented by National Music Theatre Network
River's End (Book and Lyrics by Cheryl Coons, Music by Chuck Larkin)

EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL THEATRE WRITING (MUSIC):
Have a Nice Life (Music by Conor Mitchell)
HONORABLE MENTION:  Three Sides (Music by Grant Olding); The Screams of Kitty Genovese (Music by Will Todd); and White Noise (Music by Joe
Drymala with additional songs by Ben Cohn & Sean McDaniel, Rick Crom,
Glen Kelly, Laurence O'Keefe, Benj Pasek & Justin Paul, and Eric Svejcar)

EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL THEATRE WRITING (LYRICS):
Three Sides (Lyrics by Grant Olding)
HONORABLE MENTION: J.O.B. the Hip Hopera (Lyrics by Jerome Sable and Eli Batalion) and Night of the Hunter (Lyrics by Stephen Cole)

EXCELLENCE IN MUSICAL THEATRE WRITING (BOOK):
Desperate Measures (Book by Peter Kellogg) and Gutenberg the Musical (Book by Anthony King and Scott Brown) (tie)
HONORABLE MENTION: Smoking Bloomberg (Book by David Cornue, Sam
Holtzapple, Warren Loy, and Chris Todd)

EXCELLENCE IN DIRECTION & CHOREOGRAPHY:
Common Grounds (Direction by Igor Goldin, Choreography by Ron De Jesus, Ray Leeper, Mia Michaels, Jeff Shade, and Lisa Stevens)
HONORABLE MENTION: All is Love (Choreography and Direction by Josh Walden); Desperate Measures (Direction and Choreography by Eleanor Reissa); and J.O.B. the Hip Hopera (Direction by Stefan Novinsk & Hassan Christopher, Choreography by Hassan Christopher);

EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN:
Journey to the West (Set Design by John Rager, Costume Design by Elizabeth Cox, Lighting Design by Maggie M. Bailey, Sound Design by Brian Hsieh)
HONORABLE MENTION: Emerald Man (Set Design by Donyale Werle, Costume
Design by Lisa Zinni, Lighting Design by James Milkey, Sound Design by Yoshi Lee) and River's End (Set Design by Elisha Schaefer, Costume Design by Brigid Brown, Lighting Design by Herrick Goldman, Sound Design by Daniel von Erdberg)

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE:
Have a Nice Life (Emily Skinner, Michael Berry, Michelle Blakely, Kevin Carolan, Jacquelyn Piro, Charles Hagerty and Nikki Snelson)
HONORABLE MENTION:  Having it Almost (Anastasia Barzee, Amy Eschman, Liz Larsen, Stefanie Morse, and Wendy Perelman) and Hot and Sweet (Mimi Bensinger, Jo Lynn Burks, Elaine Burt, Rebecca Buxton , Jami Dauber, Elizabeth Dotson-Westphalen , Laura Dreyer, Rebecca Eichenberger, Katie Finneran, Margaret Goodman, Alex Hanna, Elizabeth Inghram, Anne Lieberwirth, Stephanie Long, Allison Mahoney, Clarice Mazanec, Barbara Merjan, Jack Metzger, Lea Michele, Kyra Miller, Lizzie Moore, Bill Parry, Reut Regev, Andy Sandberg, and Maria Vassallo)

OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES:
Christian Campbell (Drift)
Donna Lynne Champlin (Flight of the Lawnchair Man)
Laura Daniel (The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun)
Marisa Echeverría (Kingdom)
Chris Fitzgerald (Gutenberg the Musical)
Jeff Hiller (The Children)
Greg Naughton (Alive in the World)
Jeremy Shamos (Gutenberg the Musical!)
Max von Essen (Desperate Measures)

The winners of the NYMF Awards for Excellence were selected by a jury composed of theater artists, producers, and journalists, including: Jennifer Costello (Live Nation), Robert Diamond (BroadwayWorld.com), Frank Evans (BMI), Peter Filichia (Newark Star-Ledger/TheaterMania), Tim Jerome (National Music Theater Network), Clifford Lee Johnson III (Manhattan Theatre Club), Beverly MacKeen (New World Stages), Matt Windman (AM New York) and Wayman Wong (Playbill.com/New York Daily News).

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) (Kris Stewart, Executive
Director; Isaac Robert Hurwitz, Executive Producer) is a three-week event in NYC that has premiered 99 musicals in its first three seasons, becoming the largest musical theatre event in American history.  Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," it is now widely regarded among the entertainment industry as the key source for new material and talent discovery.  NYMF is a flagship program of the National Music Theater Network, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, and is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council o–n the Arts, a state agency.

Visit www.nymf.org for more information.