Photo Coverage: NYMF Honors Goodman at 5th Anniv. Gala

The New York Musical Theater Festival honored producer Robyn Goodman at its Fifth Anniversary Season Awards Gala on Sunday, November 2nd at The Hudson Theatre. The winners of The NYMF 2008 Awards for Excellence were also be honored at the gala.

Robyn Goodman produced Avenue Q, In the Heights (Tony Awards for Best Musical), Metamophoses, A Class Act, Steel Magnolias, Barefoot in the Park, High Fidelity on Broadway. Off-Broadway credits include Bat Boy; tick, tick...BOOM!, Our Lady of 121st Street; Red Light Winter and Altar Boyz. Co-founder of Second Stage Theatre, Goodman was its artistic director for 13 years; she is currently artistic consultant to the Roundabout, where she curated Speech and Debate at the Underground Theatre.

Special appearances and performances included a reunion of the original NYMF cast of Altar Boyz (Ryan Duncan, Cheyenne Jackson, David Josefsberg, Andy Karl and Tyler Maynard), as well as Gary Adler (Altar Boyz, Avenue Q), Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Avenue Q), Robert Lopez (Avenue Q), Kristen Anderson-Lopez (Finding Nemo: The Musical), Kevin McCollum (producer, Avenue Q, In The Heights), Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights), and the current casts of Altar Boyz, [title of show] and the award-winning NYMF 2008 shows.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) celebrates its fifth year with 24 full productions, a dance series, a developmental series, concerts and special events. Since its inception in 2004, this three-week annual festival has premiered more than 160 new musicals - many of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters and on tour in 38 states, and nine countries worldwide. NYMF 2004 hit Altar Boyz has played well over 1,000 performances Off-Broadway and spawned two National Tours; fellow NYMF alum [title of show] recently opened to rave reviews at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway; Nerds is coming to Broadway this Spring; and Off-Broadway audiences will soon see My Vaudeville Man.

Hailed as "the Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF exists to revitalize one of America's greatest art forms by discovering, supporting and promoting new musical theater artists, producers, and projects, and by introducing a diverse audience to the vibrancy of contemporary musical theater. Widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery, NYMF is the flagship program of The National Music Theater Network, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. The 2008 Festival season was presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com, and was supported by amNewYork, Barnes & Noble Booksellers, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Frank & Camille's Fine Pianos, HX Magazine, Jossip.com, King Displays, Queerty.com, Manhattan Movement & Arts Center, Metromix.com, The New York Blade, Next Magazine, Panasonic Astrovision, Tekserve, TheMENEvent, VOGA Italia, and The Zipper Factory. NYMF is supported, in part, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and 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

For more information visit www.NYMF.org.

Isaac Robert Hurwitz (NYMF Executive Director & Producer) and Robyn Goodman (2008 NYMF Gala Honoree)

Altar Boyz original cast; Ryan Duncan, Tyler Maynard, Cheyenne Jackson, David Josefsberg and Andy Karl

Ryan Duncan

Tyler Maynard

David Josefsberg

Cheyenne Jackson

Andy Karl

Ryan Duncan, Tyler Maynard, Cheyenne Jackson, Isaac Robert Hurwitz, David Josefsberg and Andy Karl

Sharon Fallon (NYMF Board of Directors Chair) and Isaac Robert Hurwitz

Andy Karl, Ryan Duncan, Tyler Maynard, Robyn Goodman, Cheyenne Jackson and David Josefsberg

Charlotte St. Martin and Robyn Goodman

Laurence Holzman and Felicia Needleman

Choreographer Shea Sullivan

Harris Doran

Stephanie D'Abruzzo

Ted Chapin and Robyn Goodman

Robyn Goodman and Stephanie D'Abruzzo

Robyn Goodman and Lonny Price

Stephen Kocis, Robyn Goodman, Jessica White and Josh Fielder

"Love Jerry's" J.T. Arbogast, Megan Gogerty and Harris Doran

Ken Davenport and Robyn Goodman

Jodie Langel ("I Come For Love")

Bernard Dotson

Josh Strickland ("Plat It Cool")

Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robyn Goodman and Robert Lopez

Jennifer Williams and Matt Williams ("Ward 9")

Susan Blackwell, Robyn Goodman and Jeff Bowen

Anna Louizos and Robyn Goodman

Sarah Paulson

Sarah Paulson, Robyn Goodman and Anna Louizos

Sarah Paulson and Todd Haimes (Roundabout Theatre's Artisic Direcdtor)

Hunter Foster, Jennifer Cody and Jeffrey Seller

"title of show" cast Larry Pressgrove, Susan Blackwell, Hunter Bell, Heidi Blickenstaff and Jeff Bowen

"title of show" cast Larry Pressgrove, Susan Blackwell, Robyn Goodman, Hunter Bell, Heidi Blickenstaff and Jeff Bowen

"title of show" cast Larry Pressgrove, Susan Blackwell, Hunter Bell, Robyn Goodman, Kevin McCollum, Heidi Blickenstaff and Jeff Bowen

Isaac Robert Hurwitz and Sarah Paulson

Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman and Jeffrey Seller

Larry Pressgrove, Eve Rybnick (NYMF Operations Associate) and Eric Louie (NYMF Senior Associate Producer)

Dina Merrill and Ted Hartley

Ken Roberson and Stephanie D'Abruzzo

Jeremy Schonfeld

Shonn Wiley and Karen Murphy

Felicia Needleman ("The Jerusalem Syndrome") and Laurence Holzman ("The Jerusalem Syndrome")

Kate Wetherhead ("Wood") and Harris Doran ("Love Jerry")

Lorin Latarro ("The Jerusalem Syndrome"), Bruce Sabath ("The Jerusalem Syndrome") and Felicia Ricci ("The Jerusalem Syndrome")

"Play It Cool" Josh Strickland and Sally Mayes

Sally Mayes and Josh Strickland

Adam Riegler (upcoming Shrek)

Adam Riegler and Ryan Duncan (upcoming Shrek)

Idaho! Creative Team: Richard Winkler, Sharon Carr, Janet Pailet and Matt Lenz

Richard Winkler, Daniel Frank Kelley, Sharon Carr, Holly Holcomb Janet Pailet, Matt Lenz and Beth Curry

Roy Miller and Jodie Langel

"Bonnie and Clyde A Folk Tale" Hunter Foster

Avenue Q; Christy Carlson Romano, Howie Michael Smith, Ann Sanders, Minglie Chen, Carla
Retna, Jennifer Barnhart and Jonathan Root

Altar Boyz current cast; Travis Nesbitt, Neil Haskell, Michael Kadin Craig, Ravi Roth and Mauricio Perez

Heidi Blickenstaff and Tyler Maynard

Michael Berresse, Susan Blackwell, Hunter Bell, Cheyenne Jackson, Larry Pressgrove, Heidi Blickenstaff, Tyler Maynard and Jeff Bowen

Ryan Miller and Marissa Kamin

Shane Marshall Brown and Jason Maschi

Bed Bugs cast; Brian Charles Rooney, Ryan Bogner, Celina Carvajal, Fred Sauter, Paul Leschen and Bobby Mrozek