NYMF 2016

[mostly_musicals]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 4:34am

Is anyone talking about this year's NYMF? What have you seen/are looking forward to seeing? What's good?

So far i've only seen 6 of the developmental readings, but looking forward to seeing quite a few shows.

Love to hear from other folks!

 

[ssf362]

Posted: 7/22/16 at 12:00pm

Here's my review of ICON, with an under-used Donna McKechnie.

http://thefrontrowcenter.com/2016/07/icon/

[mostly_musicals]

Posted: 7/26/16 at 2:52am

So far, 8 developmental readings, 4 productions, and 1 event:

My top picks of the readings would be BREAD AND ROSES, A LASTING IMPRESSION, REMISSION, and COOKIES.

as for the productions:

THE FIRST CHURCH OF MARY....

Enjoyable music and concept, but book DEFINITELY needs work. Not quite as much fun as one might hope. It has closed already, so i'll leave it at that.

LISA AND LEONARDO

There are some good performers in this, but i can't recommend the show. They do have a feedback form in the program, and i hope they find it beneficial.

A SCYTHE OF TIME

Well done, high production values, strong performances, especially from Lesli Margherita, PJ Griffith, and Matt Dengler. Excellent use of projections as well as some simpler stagecraft, high quality and very detailed costumes. The show occupies a strange place between creepy and comedic, and perhaps needs to set a more comedic tone early on so people know how to respond. Songs were good, rock musical theatre songs, though overamplified at the performance i saw. At 90 minutes, the shortest thing i've seen in NYMF 2016, including the readings, and the pace was strong throughout.

ICON

I liked this more than i expected to, and found it quite involving. Charlotte Maltby is all one could hope for in a princess, vocally and in appearance, and Sam Simahk, who is new to me, is really really excellent. Donna McKechnie shows her acting ability in a very important (95% NONmusical) role, and Tony Sheldon is lovely. The songs are good, the show looks beautiful. Nice choreography. There are some incredible projections (flames, fireworks, embers floating), and some really poor ones (the 3d computer generated architectural renderings pulled me right out of the period.) Costumes were mostly beautiful, not sure why the Princess is always in evening wear tho. No set to speak of, and a lot of mimed props, which felt a little odd. It could all move a little faster, but i found the story very engaging, and moving in the end (well, almost the end, i HATED the very end but won't give it away, it's a super unnecessary add on. But i'd love to talk to anyone who felt differently.

Plenty more on the schedule..

[TheresaG]

Posted: 7/26/16 at 1:10pm

Glad to see this thread is rolling - NYMF is one of my favorite things of the summer.

I saw my first two on Sunday:

A SCYTHE OF TIME  - Can't add much to the fine writing of mostly_musicals. You made an especially good point about needing to establish the comedy tone earlier on. Couldn't put my finger on what I thought was missing but that was it. Performances were really good.

THE LAST WORD - Clever and well developed. Good choreography, clever floor on the set (a bit of a scrabble board) and very good performances. There were some fine songs as well.  Since it is set in the 1970's some more references to that would have helped. As always, Felicia Finley was terrific; well developed character.  This show could have a nice run after the Festival somewhere. Two hours plus intermission; very enjoyable time spent there.

NYMF needs a show or two to break out from this 2016 lineup. It's been awhile. The audiences in the NYMF shows I saw were so supportive. Lots of applause and admiration shown for what they seeing. Everyone is very friendly, too.

Updated On: 7/26/16 at 01:10 PM

[mostly_musicals]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 2:26am

Not sure if no one is seeing NYMF this year, or just no one (else) is talking about it, but since last weekend, here's what i've seen:

ULTIMATE MAN: this got what seemed to be a lot of negative attention, but i think i liked it more than most, if it lacked polish (and inexplicably threw in too many not terribly witty current political jokes) it had charm.. but it didn't really break any new ground, and was too long.  It was enjoyable for what it was. Nice performances by Alan Gillespie and Joyah Love Spangler, Michael Glavan was all you could want as 'Ultimate Man' and Douglas Ladnier made the most of his villanous character - though it'd be great to see him in something more substantial.

FREEDOM RIDERS: A 'Beta' performance, somewhere between a reading and a production, the songs (and vocals!) were awesome. The book could use some work - it needs to allow us to connect with the characters more tangibly earlier on, i want to care about them, but don't understand WHO they are as individuals. The history could be more clearly put forth as well. But i can see this growing into something really special. And, anything with Mykal Kilgore gets my approval.

MIDNIGHT AT THE NEVER GET: I am SO eager to talk with other people who have seen this. Outstanding songs, that really do have the sound of the Great American Songbook. Ultimately a sad story. It's basically a 1 1/2 person show - Mark Sonnenblic, the writer, is at the piano and has some dialogue, Sam Bolen is the main performer, They do a great job creating atmosphere in the venue - and there are drinks available to purchase. (and warning, if you've not been to 42W, the bathrooms are very disorienting. If you have, you'll know what i mean!)

THE LAST WORD: A fun and enjoyable couple of hours, but not memorable to me -the Scrabble stuff was fun (i like scrabble) the performers were engaging. The detour to the retirement home  was kinda inexplicable, and not so much fun. Actually, a number of things were inexplicable - why did the Parking Lot Queen mutter nonsense words at the end of conversations - and why did she have 2 sons with the same name?

Today (Saturday) i saw FOREST BOY, TINK, and NICKEL MINES -but i'll get to those tomorrow. (if anyone is interested... really miss having a 'hub' this year where you can connect with folks to talk over the offerings!)

:)

[mostly_musicals]

Posted: 7/31/16 at 3:19pm

FOREST BOY: A lovely arty ensemble piece, with creative lyrical movement/choreography. I found the music very pretty, and the story was interesting. I think the parts leading up to when we find out the truth were far more interesting than when we do find out about Ray's background. (Full confession, i was late to this show, and thus distracted at the start, which may have impacted my enjoyment.) It's shorter than listed, just about 90 minutes, no intermission. (one more show Tuesday at 5pm)

TINK!: An entertaining show, if somewhat unfocused. I believe they're intending it for a children's/family show. It's a kind of prequel to PETER PAN. There are more storylines than there need to be - i think the show would be strengthened by losing some sub-plots (the whole mean girls/ Tink's family moving to the Emerald, er, Capital? City feels particularly unnecessary). The music is melodic, and fun, particularly in solo/duet moments (it's a little murkier in some of the ensemble numbers, particularly the opening.) Tink's duet with Tiger Lily is a huge standout, both girls give strong performances throughout. James (the pirate soon-to-be-known as Hook) was less compelling than he might have been, kind of an 80s romantic Adam Ant-ish pirate, though he sang well (and seriously, those pants?) Perhaps because of trying to fit so much in, there some rushed moments in storytelling - how DID Peter become the leader of the Lost Boys? 

That all said, it was an enjoyable couple of hours, and a good looking show. (I think their final performance is in just a couple hours, and it may be sold out)

NICKEL MINES: An emotionally resonant, poetic, non-linear piece on the school shooting of 10 Amish girls in 2006. There is a lot of dance/movement involved, performances are strong, and production elements, though minimal, are well used (particularly lighting). The show was effective as a whole, though what i find myself remembering is more the movement than the songs. It could use perhaps a clearer thruline towards the end - several times i thought it was the end, only for another scene to happen. It brought out a lot of emotion in the audience. If you think this would be appealing to you, go NOW - the final 2 performances are today at 5 and 9pm, and it looks like tickets are available for both.

 

What has everyone else been seeing?

[amm180]

Posted: 8/4/16 at 1:18pm

I went to the opening of Newton's Cradle last night and loved it. Really amazing performances from the entire cast, and an especially moving act 2. In director Victoria Clark's words, the show explores "the right of every human to be fully and completely who they are, without labels" in the context of a family story that moves fluidly back and forth in time, and uses innovative staging to help get inside the mind of the protagonist who is living with autism. 

[ssf362]

Posted: 8/5/16 at 8:46am

Here's my review of Ludo's Broken Bride. Rock opera meets ballet, and Pterodactyls.

http://thefrontrowcenter.com/2016/08/ludos-broken-bride/

 

[broadwayboy223]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 1:11am

Did anyone catch the readings of Cookies with Annelise Van Der Pol? Just curious because I LOVE her. She's so talented 

[TheresaG]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 11:22am

I saw my last two shows on Friday and Saturday. Friday was Ludo's Broken Bride. I found it very hard to follow with the back and forth. Also the use of the narrator watching himself played by another actor was tough to follow. The music is good, lyrics are a little weird in parts. It does have well developed and well done choreography. Wondering what will happen with that one eventually.

My last show was the best I've seen in a few years at the Festival; The Gold. The music is lovely and the cast performed wonderfully. The last part of the first act needs to be revised but the second act is truly gold. I think this show can make it to the next stage of production and open somewhere regionally. Since the main writer is from Houston, that might be an excellent spot to go on to.

[mostly_musicals]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 4:15pm

Sorry to be so delayed, i know the festival is wrapping up today.

I saw STILL READY, the Rob Rokicki concert, which was very good, he's a fantastic young writer, and the 2 editions of WOMEN OF NOTE on offer this year, which were a mix of old and new  - we had 'On My Way' from VIOLET and a song from A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, mixed with new work by up and coming writers. I noticed fewer writers were present this year, although some were there that we did not see, only the ones who performed their own work appeared on stage. (there was a slightly confusing prokected introduction, in which the photo of the writer appeared with no text while they set up, then went to slides with name of writer/show/performers very quickly. (It was kind of a 'name the female musical theatre writer' flash card game.)

DUST CAN'T KILL ME:

I wanted to love this, and i did like it, the music and performances (both acting and musical - the performers play the instruments - were strong and the design/direction were simple and beautiful but i found the'mythology' confusing - all the stuff about the poison peaches and the mysterious minister. It seemed set in a 'real' time and place, the Dust Bowl in the 30s, but had these magical elements that i had trouble with, i think they need to be integrated more fully. I've since learned it was a FringeNYC show last year, and this is a cut down version, perhaps that explains some things. It was listed online as 1:45 w no intermission, but in the program as 2 hrs w/intermission, so i'd imagine they're still working on it.

iLLA:

My favorite event of NYMF 2015 won the Developmental Reading Award, and returned as a 3 night concert. It it thrilling, exciting, and i truly hope, going places. They've made substantial changes, some of which are excellent - moving the characters from HS to college is smart  - and others i felt less sure of - the subplot about the factory closing/main character's dad embezzling/dance teacher spearheading a movement to turn it into a performing arts center (which happens! And in, i believe, one semester! Wow - could this city's government give Congress some lessons?) seemed unnecessary. Performances were strong, well rehearsed, and well directed, and projections were used very effectively. I think they've given themselves a problem by making Act 1 SO thrilling, and it builds to such an exciting conclusion pre-intermission that Act 2 has to pull it back a bit, and it doesn't reach escape velocity again until nearly the end. But, i think they will find a way through that and continue on - they're building momentum and have done a couple workshops and i believe more to come. The team seems to be very smart with media, social and otherwise. The packed audience was riveted.

 

even more a little later: NEWTON'S CRADLE, SINGLE, and LUDO'S BROKEN BRIDE...

[mostly_musicals]

Posted: 8/7/16 at 9:45pm

NEWTON'S CRADLE was my pick for Best of Fest. 'Best' is such a relative term, but this show had that magic quality of, Wow, i haven't seen THIS before. Thoughtful, fragmented, beautifully designed and performed with interesting music throughout, and a good STORY, told in a non-linear fashion, but in a way that made you want to figure out the puzzle without feeling like it had gone off the rails. The weakest point to me was the final song, which felt like the scattered bird metaphors had been made to fit. But it still did not feel integral to the story, it seemed like a folk/pop add on. (but others may disagree)

SINGLE: I went to see this at the last minute when i found out it was suddenly starring Rachel Stern, and that director Tom Caruso was involved. (Apparently something happened, causing a change of cast and director just a few days earlier.) So, this was done script in hand. The show was good, relying a little too much on dating humor that felt rather dated. Rachel and cast (sepecially the actor who played ALL the boyfriends/dates) were great, the songs were good solid pop/rock - though there's probably too many of them. There is definitely a show here, but it's maybe a little too predictable. But MAJOR kudos to all involved for getting this put together SO FAST and in a remarkably polished form.

LUDO'S BROKEN BRIDE: 

I was looking forward to this (along with iLLA and BREAD AND ROSES) more than anything since before the festival started. I'd seen some previews they'd done, and thought the music was awesome and the ideas were fascinating. When i heard there were special effects including projections, puppets, and Brian Charles Rooney, i was SO THERE. And the result was...mixed. The music was great, as were many of the performances - Oriel was lovely, BCR as the Antichrist (?) was as glamorously evil as anyone could want. I'm kinda in love with puppet guy - especially as Hawking, the prehistoric rat-dog-cat. But taking a pre-existing song catalog and making it into a musical that has a story is tricky, and maybe not possible in this case - the story takes so many swerves to incorporate the ideas and images in a sometimes too literal fashion that it doesn't really hang together, and it's hard to really connect. (the sound quality did not help intelligibility.) Perhaps the show shouldn't try to encompass all these ideas from sthe songs, and a more impressionistic approach would be more effective. It did give me one of my few moments of unexpected emotion, when our scientist realises he can't save Oriel and asks for one more day to say goodbye, and then, in that day, broken himself, chooses to get in the car with her (and takes her hand which we know always mader her feel better as a child.) i definitely felt things.

It was a noble experiment, and an interesting evening, even if it did not 100% work. 

 

And that was the end of the festival for me. :) See you next year NYMF!