NYMF Announces 2010 Invited Musical Selections

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) today announces the 11 musicals that have been invited by NYMF to be presented with the 12 previously announced Next Link Project productions. NYMF will also announce the festival's Developmental Reading Series and other special events in the upcoming weeks. This year's festival will be presented September 27 - October 17 at venues around Manhattan. A complete list of shows and their writers are below.

Titles for 2010's Invited Work Series include: BLOODTIES, FINGERS AND TOES, THE HISTORY OF WAR, NIGHTTIME TRAFFICE, PANDORA'S BOX, SHINE! THE Horatio Alger MUSICAL, SHOW CHOIR! THE MUSICAL, TRAILS, TRAV'LIN, VOTE FOR ME: A MUSICAL DEBATE, and WITHOUT YOU.

Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered more than 200 new musicals - more than 60 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters and in almost every state and in 12 countries worldwide. NYMF 2004 hit Altar Boyz has played well over 1,500 performances Off-Broadway and spawned two National Tours; fellow NYMF alum [title of show] played on Broadway (Tony Award nomination, Best Book of a Musical); Next to Normal opened on Broadway last year, won The Pulitzer Prize as well as being nominated for 11 Tony Awards; and such shows as Rooms, The Big Voice: God Or Merman, My Vaudeville Man, and Meet John Doe have all gone on to have productions in New York and regionally. Yank! recently played off-Broadway and will be opening on Broadway next season.

This year's Festival will run September 27th through October 17th. Memberships on sale now and members can start booking tickets on August 1st. Single tickets will go on sale beginning September 1st. To purchase a membership, please visit www.nymf.org/member.

A complete list of the 2010 Invited Musicals follows:

BLOODTIES
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Ned Massey

He was dubbed "the next Dylan, the next Springsteen" by the man who discovered both of them. So why have you never heard of Ned Massey? After a troubled childhood and an unfulfilled shot at fame, a musician questions destiny, faith and forgiveness when he finds himself at rock bottom. With raw honesty and dark wit, Bloodties charts the meteoric trajectory of a life unwillingly propelled by divine messages and the ties that bind.

FINGERS AND TOES
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Logan Medland

Tap virtuoso and chronic womanizer "Toes" Macgrath and relationship-tormented pianist "Fingers" St. Claire have less than two weeks to create a song and dance show about Love for a big audition with a Broadway producer. But when triple-threat Molly Molloy joins them to play their ingénue, their plans spiral out of control as real romantic entanglements turn the creative process upside down. It's a modern day Singin' in the Rain!

THE HISTORY OF WAR
Book by Chip Zien, Music by Deborah Abramson, Lyrics by Amanda Yesnowitz

The History Of War is spun from the imagination of a 12 year old boy - a megalomaniac in training. As he struggles with homework assignments and peculiar visions, he conjures up seven of the most famous tyrants of all time. They did horrible things. He wants to do horrible things. His parents are worried. ...and everybody sings! ... well, almost everybody. Reality and pathology neatly converge in this terrifyingly subversive new musical.

NIGHTTIME TRAFFIC
Book, Music and Lyrics by Alex Wyse

When Max and his boyfriend Calder find themselves in a hospital awaiting Calder's heart transplant, the nurse supplies them with a mind-altering pill that slows time, turning one minute into one hour. Fueled by a sweeping contemporary score, Nighttime Traffic follows three characters through a world of thumping music, altered perceptions, and unanticipated inspiration as they spin minutes into moments and search for solace in unsettling times.

PANDORA'S BOX

Book by Maria S. Schlatter, Music and Lyrics by Glen Roven

Based on the film Gazon Maudit

Pandora, a suburban housewife, and her serial-philanderer husband, Oliver, have their love and lives turned upside down the day that Mona, a Lesbian-American handywoman, walks through their door. In this raucous, contemporary sex farce, Mona and Oliver face off in a fight to win the greatest prize of all, the love of the beautiful Pandora.

SHINE! THE Horatio Alger MUSICAL

Book by Richard Seff, Music by Roger Dean Anderson, Lyrics by Lee Goldsmith

Lower Manhattan, 1876. Join Dick as he rises from penniless bootblack to budding entrepreneur with a little bit of luck, a little bit of charm, and a whole lot of hard work. Based on Horatio Alger's beloved tale, Dick's adventures bring him face to face with scheming ex-convicts, vicious comic villains, kind benefactors, and a host of colorful characters in this rags-to-riches romp for the whole family.

SHOW CHOIR! - THE MUSICAL
Book, Music and Lyrics by Donald Garverick and Mark McDaniels

International pop phenomenon The Symphonic Sensations rose from small town high school show choir to big time show biz success with an explosion of tight harmonies and jazz hands. As the music bio TV documentary "Beyond the Façade" follows their thrilling path to fame and adoration by millions, the highs and lows of celebrity are exposed in this musical comedy exploration of America's favorite extracurricular activity.

TRAILS

Book by Christy Hall, Music by Jeff Thomson, Lyrics by Jordan Mann

Adrift in their lives, two friends reconnect after ten years and set out to fulfill a childhood promise: to hike the Appalachian Trail together from beginning to end. Over the six month, 2000 mile journey, past and present intertwine as the two face both the elements and the ghosts that haunt their memories. As they sift through the ashes of their tumultuous history, a bond of brotherhood struggles to be reborn.

TRAV'LIN

Book by Allan Shapiro and Gary Holmes, Music and Lyrics by J.C. Johnson and friends

George, unofficial mayor of 137th Street and a self-proclaimed expert on love, believes it should never be taken seriously. He finally meets his match when he befriends a down-on-her-luck stranger who is not what she seems. A funny and heart-warming look at the romantic travails of three couples learning about love in 1930's Harlem, this musical features a tuneful and jazzy period score by Harlem Renaissance songwriter J.C. Johnson, a colleague of artists such as Fats Waller, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters and Billie Holiday.

VOTE FOR ME: A MUSICAL DEBATE
Book, Music and Lyrics by Scott Elmegreen and Drew Fornarola

Tea Parties, oil spills, death panels...and that's just the opening statements. In this musicalized Presidential debate where you pick the winner, the candidates dance and sing their way through the three-ring circus of American politics, campaign trails, and family life in the spotlight. Hum along and cast your vote to determine the outcome of the show--and the future of America! The writers of College The Musical (NYMF 2008) return to the festival with this hysterical world-premiere political spoof.

WITHOUT YOU
By Anthony Rapp, featuring Music and Lyrics by Jonathan Larson

Anthony Rapp presents his turbulent journey through the convergence of two life-changing events: the early days of Rent - including the untimely passing of Jonathan Larson - and the illness and death of his own mother. Based on his New York Times best-selling memoir, Rapp uses a mix of original music and songs by R.E.M. and Larson in a stunning one-man show about grief, hope, and triumph.

Now entering its seventh year, The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theater culture by discovering and promoting new musical theater 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.

The 2009 New York Musical Theater Festival enjoyed record ticket sales, up by 20% over last year. Attendance was at an all-time high, with the majority of festival productions playing to over 90% capacity. 87% of festival events sold out most or all of their performances. Due to audience demand, 15 productions received a total of 22 extension performances, twice as many as in 2008.

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, and is presented in association with BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group and TheaterMania.com. 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, please visit: www.nymf.org