Sherie Rene Scott, Alice Ripley, Gavin Creel & Kelli O'Hara Set for NYMF's 2009 'Best of Fest,' 11/22

NYMF has just announced the winners of their Best of Fest awards. Set to perform at this year's gala are the casts of the winning shows, as well as Sh-K-Boom's own Sherie Rene Scott, Alice Ripley, Gavin Creel, and Kelli O'Hara.  The event will take place on Sunday, November 22nd, at 6:30pm at the Edison Ballroom.

In addition to honoring the award-winning NYMF productions, the evening will honor Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records "for their dedication to the preservation of new musicals and their support of new musical theatre artists."

The 2009 "BEST of FEST" award winners include: 

EXCELLENCE IN WRITING: MUSIC
John Mercurio, Academy
Honorable Mention: Allan Harris, Cross That River; Michael Holland, Hurricane; Will Aronson, My Scary Girl

EXCELLENCE IN WRITING: LYRICS
Chad Beguelin, Judas & Me
Honorable Mention: John Mercurio, Academy; David Eric Davis, F#@king Up Everything; David LeFort Nugent, Open The Dark Door

EXCELLENCE IN WRITING: BOOK
Sam Forman and David Eric Davis, F#@king Up Everything
Honorable Mention: Chad Beguelin, Judas & Me; Kyoung-Ae Kang, My Scary Girl; Barry Harman, Under Fire

EXCELLENCE IN DIRECTION
Michael Bush, Hurricane
Honorable Mention: John Carrafa, Academy; Alex Timbers, Fat Camp; Jung Joo Byun, My Scary Girl

EXCELLENCE IN CHOREOGRAPHY
Connor Gallagher, Fat Camp
Honorable Mention: Daryl Gray, Darren Lee and Shea Sullivan, Andy Warhol Was Right; Michael Blevins, Count To Ten

OUTSTANDING OVERALL DESIGN
Hurricane (Christopher Akerlind, sets and lighting; David Margolin Lawson, sound; Karen Ann Ledger, costumes; Edward J. Wilson, hair and wigs)
Honorable Mention: Judas & Me (Susan Barras, sets; Michael Gottlieb,lighting; David A. Arnold, sound; Bobby Pearce, costumes); Max Understood (Caleb Wertenbaker, sets; Justin Townsend, lighting; Michael Rasbury, sound; Clint Ramos, costumes); and Seeing Stars (Michael P. Kramer, sets; Martin E. Vreeland, lights; Stephen Kunken, sound; David Toser, costumes)

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE PERFORMANCE
Academy (Steven Kane, Corey Boardman, Wilson Bridges, Antonio Addeo, Jason Edward Cook, F. Michael Haynie, Lyle Colby Mackston, Joseph Medeiros, and Gabriel Violett)
Honorable Mention: the casts of F#@king Up Everything; Marrying Meg; and My Scary Girl

OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES
Jin Ui Bang (My Scary Girl)
Valerie Kimani (Mo Faya)
Cale Krise (Fat Camp)
Leslie Kritzer (Judas & Me)
Liesl Lar (Anjou)
Paul Louis Lessard (Open The Dark Door)
Soara-Joye Ross (Cross That River)
Marlon Sherman (Max Understood)
Mary Testa (All Fall Down)
Barbara Walsh (Judas & Me)
Noah Weisberg (F#@king Up Everything)

OUTSTANDING NEW MUSICAL
My Scary Girl by Kyoung-Ae Kang and Will Aronson
Honorable Mention: Academy by John Mercurio; Judas & Me by Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar

"BEST OF FEST" AUDIENCE PRIZE
Fat Camp by Randy Blair, Timothy Michael Drucker and Matthew roi Berger
Runner Up: Fantasy Football by David Ingber

THEATER FOR THE AMERICAN MUSICAL PRIZE
Under Fire by Barry Harman and Grant Sturiale

Two additional awards, bestowed by Daegu International Theater Festival and Stage Entertainment USA, will be announced at the gala.

The gala will also honor Time Warner Cable's NY1 "On Stage" for their support of the festival, theater in New York City and Sh-K-Boom and Ghostlight Records.

Tickets are now on sale for the awards ceremony, taking place on Sunday, November 22nd, at 6:30pm at the Edison Ballroom and start at $200. To purchase, call 212-664-0979 x12 or email gala@nymf.org.