NYMF 2017

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 5:54pm

Anyone see one of the offerings or planning to see a show? I caught Matthew McConaughey vs. The Devil today. It's pretty fun. As a NYMF show, it was up there with the better shows I've seen. Though I couldn't imagine it even having a life off-Broadway, continuing to play at Theatre Row for instance. It's well-constructed in that it has a beginning and a middle and an end but it loses steam towards the end because you don't really care about the conflict. I don't want to oversell it but I feel like there was enough there in the songwriting (though a lot of the melodies were very simple) that I could see the writers going on to write something like Heathers or [title of show]. Lesli Margherita and Jennifer Blood make this well worth catching alone if you're a Matilda fan. They were fantastic. I thought everyone else was weaker but they all had their moments. And the ensemble was giving it their all. Smart direction and choreography given the scope of the show. They made it feel like a bigger production than it was. 

I'm curious what everyone else is seeing because I'm going to be out of town for most of it (and the shows weren't as appealing as last year) so I didn't spring for a pass. I might catch one or two more shows when I get back but that's it.

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 9:24pm

I saw Matthew McConaughey Vs. The Devil as well, and I enjoyed it more than I expected too.  Well directed, well crafted, creative, clever, topical, and silly and fun.  Jennifer Blood and Queen Lesli were standouts.

 

I also saw The Time Machine........  well... I saw Act One of The Time Machine......

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 9:32pm

Honest question here, for those of you familiar with the festival. Do you think it's a worthwhile endeavor for early-career writers/composers? Sometimes I get the vibe that it's kind of seen as a playground for "weirder" shows or poorly written shows, but some of the stuff that started there ends up making it. I'm selfishly asking if it's something my partner and I should consider submitting to. Anyone in the know have thoughts?

[10086Sundays]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 9:39pm

I don't know about the NYMF specifically, but, in my opinion, anyone just starting out should take any and every opportunity to get their work produced and make contacts.  You never know who you'll meet or who will see it, so yes, I say go for it.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 10:46pm

bwayrose7 said: "Honest question here, for those of you familiar with the festival. Do you think it's a worthwhile endeavor for early-career writers/composers? Sometimes I get the vibe that it's kind of seen as a playground for "weirder" shows or poorly written shows, but some of the stuff that started there ends up making it. I'm selfishly asking if it's something my partner and I should consider submitting to. Anyone in the know have thoughts?

I think it's great that they make space for the "weirder" stuff as you put it. But I saw plenty of shows when I had a pass last year that were trying to be good, whether or not I thought they were entirely successful, and plenty of shows that were more serious in their content. Why not apply to get support for your project and get it in front of more people so you can get feedback? There doesn't seem to be a down side. I don't know the specifics of applying or how much financial support you get from NYMF but a lot of the shows do seem to need kickstarters or use other crowdfunding sites. I will point out that one of the shows I enjoyed last time (though it wasn't entirely successful) Freedom Riders was in beta last year and this year it's back again as a regular show.

[bct14972]

Posted: 7/14/17 at 11:02pm

bwayrose7 said: "Honest question here, for those of you familiar with the festival. Do you think it's a worthwhile endeavor for early-career writers/composers? Sometimes I get the vibe that it's kind of seen as a playground for "weirder" shows or poorly written shows, but some of the stuff that started there ends up making it. I'm selfishly asking if it's something my partner and I should consider submitting to. Anyone in the know have thoughts?

 

"Definitely worthwhile if you're willing to foot the bill or raise the money--and this is coming from someone who has had to work with the pressure of raising the money for a show at NYMF. I love the festival dearly, but the readings can cost close to $8,000 and the productions can be at minimum approx. $30,000.

 

By all means do it! I had a great time and wouldn't trade it for anything--the best part about it is that the writers truly are king with each of their productions. 

 

[TheresaG]

Posted: 7/16/17 at 12:23pm

NYMF is tough to figure at times. The early years had some good ones that went on like Altar Boys and title of show. One that I liked a lot last year was The Gold.

Would be nice to see something hit big this year from it. I think A Wall Apart has a good chance if the music samples are any indication. Graham Russell writes really good stuff and his new compositions for this show sampled are very nice. But we'll see how the music and story flow.

I saw My Dear Watson. It didn't play well during the first act; I almost left at intermission. I'm glad I stuck it out because the second act was very well done.

They did a good job placing the shows this year. It's much easier to find everything when it's placed together and the Treehaus for a central place works good for getting food.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 7/27/17 at 11:57pm

I saw The Goree All Girl String Band. There were some stand out moments but anyone who thinks it's ready for a professional run is kidding themselves. It would die a quick death like Himself & Nora. The actors needed more time to find their characters and give the performances some depth. The movement was... not good. There was a disappointing lack of a sense of the time period. It needed much stronger direction and much better lyrics. I'm not saying everything needs to rhyme but there was no artistry. The ends of non-rhyming phrases landed with heavy thuds and what was being said wasn't enough to make up for it. And if I had a nickel for every novice/young/amateur writer who wrote a song rhyming "bliss" and "kiss" and so on... I did enjoy Lauren Patten. I think she was somewhat miscast but in the right project, she could put her talents to good use. I saw her in Fun Home but this show expanded my sense of what she's capable of doing. Ruby Wolf came the closest to an emotionally moving performance. The book was just really lacking. Even when Nattalyee Randall was giving her all in her big number I couldn't feel anything but impressed by her singing because the book hadn't built that storyline to an effective place and the lyrics were not helping either. I don't know how much of this was based in reality but I wish they'd either stuck closer to the truth or gone more fictional and told a more worthwhile story. Like, it would have been stronger if Reable and Mozelle had fallen for each other since their final duet is almost a love song anyway and the book barely spends time really developing their friendship. Hattie's and Nora's plotlines were handled very clumsily though their solos were sung very well. I did love the orchestrations. And again, the show does have some good moments and good ideas. But it needs a lot of work.