Linda Balgord & Ali Gordon to Lead CROSSING SWORDS at NYMF; Full Cast Announced!

The 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) AND Forte Musical Theatre Guild present Crossing Swords a world premiere musical comedy by Joe Slabe, nominated for five Betty Mitchell Awards and three Calgary Critics' Awards. NYMF veteran Igor Goldin directs a cast of five including Linda Balgord (Bway: The Pirate Queen, CATS, La Cage, Gypsy standby for Patti LuPone; Nat. Tour: Sunset Boulevard), Ali Gordon (Regional: Fiddler on the Roof, You're a Good Man Charlie Brown), Steven Hauck (Bway: Irena's Vow), Lyle Colby Mackston (Papermill: 25th Annual...Spelling Bee), and Marrick Smith(New York: Love's Labour's Lost). Crossing Swords is being staged at The Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street (bet. 9th & 10th Avenues) in NYC for five performances from Monday, July 22 through Sunday, July 28, 2013.

When the boys of St. Mark's join the girls of St. Anne's to present "Cyrano de Bergerac," three friends get more of an education than they bargained for. Love blossoms, jealousies flare, and secrets are revealed that may end their youthful innocence as life imitates art in this funny and poignant coming-of-age story.

Crossing Swords is an official selection of the 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival's 2013 Next Link Project. The Pershing Square Signature Center is the official hub of The 2013 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Crossing Swords is presented by Forte Musical Theatre Guild and The New York Musical Theatre Festival. Producer: Forte Musical Theatre Guild; Director: Igor Goldin; Music Director: Micah Young­­­­­­­­­­­­; Fight Director/Assistant Director: Trey Compton;Assistant Musical Director/Web Designer: Karl Hinze; Technical Director: Daniel Jagendorf; Scenic Designer: Josh Zangen; Lighting Designer: Zach Blane; Costume Designer: Amy Pedigo-Otto; Stage Manager: Naomi Anhorn; Assistant Stage Manager: Alyson Cermak;General Manager: Suellen Vance; Photographer: Seth Walters; Publicist: Paul Siebold/Off Off PR. Casting by Michael Cassara, CSA.

Crossing Swords plays for five performances on the following schedule: Monday, Jul 22nd, 2013 at 9:00pm; Tuesday, Jul 23rd, 2013 at 1:00pm; Wednesday, Jul 24th, 2013 at 9:00pm; Saturday, Jul 27th, 2013 at 9:00pm; Sunday, Jul 28th, 2013 at 1:00pm.

Joe Slabe (Book, Music and Lyrics) is a Calgary-based writer and composer who obtained his Masters Degree in musical theatre composition from the University of London. Joe co-wrote the 2007 NYMF hit, Austentatious, which was recently published by Playscripts Inc. He premiered his latest musical, Maria Rasputin Presents in February of 2013 and will get ready for the world premiere of another of his shows, If I Weren't With You, at Lunchbox Theatre in April. Joe is also an award-winning musical director having musically directed eleven shows in Western Canada over the past three years. In that time, he garnered six Betty Mitchell Award nominations for his work and won twice. Joe is the founding artistic director of Forte Musical Theatre Guild and received the 2004 Greg Bond Award for outstanding contributions to musical theatre in Calgary.

Igor Goldin (Director) is a New York Musical Theatre Festival veteran having directed 9 NYMF shows to date. Most notably he directed the original NYMF production of YANK! as well as its out of town and Off-Broadway productions. Mr. Goldin's production of YANK!, in addition to earning him a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical, in total collected 7 Drama Desk nominations, including Outstanding Musical; 2 Outer Critics Circle nominations, including Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical; 2 Lucille Lortel Award nominations, including Outstanding Musical; a GLAAD Media Award nomination; a New York Innovative Theatre Award and an Outstanding Achievement in Direction of a Musical from StageScene LA. Other NYMF shows include: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (NYMF Award for Excellence in Direction), Swing State, The Tenth Floor (Talkin' Broadway Outstanding New Summer Musical), Unlock'd (Best In Fest Award), Common Grounds NYMF Award for Excellence In Direction). He also directed the Off-Broadway production of another NYMF alum, With Glee, as well as Liberty(Warner Theatre, CT and NYC Workshop),Like You Like It(New York Innovative Theatre Award) and is currently developing the musical Academy for an out of town tryout as it makes its way back to NYC. Other credits include: ...And Then I Wrote A Song About It (Luna Stage, NJ and Diversionary, San Diego - Best Direction of a Solo Performance, StageScene LA), Seussical (Associate Director, directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge, Theatreworks USA),The Foreigner, The Mystery of Irma Vep, The New Century, A Little Night Music, I Love You Because (NH Theatre Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical), Romance Romance, The Complete History of America (abridged), Blithe Spirit, Dracula, Violet, The Spitfire Grill and The Full Monty. Upcoming: South Pacific at the Engeman Theatre. Mr. Goldin was nominated by his peers as a top 5 finalist for the 2010 SDC Joe A. Callaway Award for Distinguished Direction. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).

Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at nymf.org or by calling 212-352-3101. For more information, please visit nymf.org.

The runtime for Crossing Swords is 125 minutes including one intermission.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theatre culture by discovering and promoting new musical theatre artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience.

Now in its tenth year, the Festival is the largest musical theatre event in America. The preeminent site for launching new musicals and discovering new talent, the Festival provides an affordable platform for artists to mount professional productions that reach their peers, industry leaders, and musical theater fans. More than 85 festival shows have gone on to productions on and off-Broadway, in 48 states, and more than 20 countries worldwide, and Festival alumni have received a wide array of awards including the Tony and the Pulitzer Prize. In 2013, NYMF received a special Drama Desk Award in recognition of its work "creating and nurturing new musical theater, ensuring the future of this essential art form."

NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2013 is presented in association with Dunkin' Donuts, BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group, and TheaterMania.com, and 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. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The BWF Foundation, Con Edison, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer Phinney, The New Musical Development Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League.

NYMF Memberships, which combine charitable contributions with valuable, flexible ticket packages and perks like early seating, and tickets to individual events, are currently available for purchase at (212) 352-3101 or www.nymf.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride