Jenny Giering News

Coming up this week, 54 BELOW, the performance venue located just below the legendary Studio 54 at 254 West 54th Street, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. 54 Below also launched its series of late night events. Joining Tuesday nights' popular 'Backstage' with Susie Mosher is the '54 Piano Bar,' a new vocal competition - 'The Callback,' and more:

Kathy Evans, Founder and Executive Director, announced the nine musicals and eighteen writers selected for the third summer of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. For nine consecutive weeks beginning June 23rd, each writing team will have an individual weeklong residency in Rhinebeck, New York to write their musical. All costs are fully funded by donors including The ASCAP Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, and The Noel Coward Foundation. Writers include Tony-winners and nominees Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening), and Heidi Rodewald and Stew (Passing Strange), and multi-award winners Adam Gwon, Laura Harrington, Joe Iconis, Kait Kerrigan, and Brian Lowdermilk.

Kathy Evans, Founder and Executive Director, announced the nine musicals and eighteen writers selected for the third summer of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. For nine consecutive weeks beginning today, June 23rd, each writing team will have an individual weeklong residency in Rhinebeck, New York to write their musical. All costs are fully funded by donors including The ASCAP Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, and The Noel Coward Foundation. Writers include Tony-winners and nominees Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening), and Heidi Rodewald and Stew (Passing Strange), and multi-award winners Adam Gwon, Laura Harrington, Joe Iconis, Kait Kerrigan, and Brian Lowdermilk.

MARRY HARRY is an official selection of the 2013 New York Musical Theatre and will be presented by the New York Musical Theatre Festival. MARRY HARRY has a book by Jennifer Robbins, music by Dan Martin, lyrics by Michael Biello, music direction by Christopher McGovern, choreography by Wendy Seyb, and is directed by Kent Nicholson. MARRY HARRY will play at The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre at The Pershing Square Signature Center, beginning July 19 - July 28. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased by visiting www.nymf.org or www.marryharry.com or by calling (212) 352-3101.

Kathy Evans, Founder and Executive Director, announced the nine musicals and eighteen writers selected for the third summer of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. For nine consecutive weeks beginning June 23rd, each writing team will have an individual weeklong residency in Rhinebeck, New York to write their musical. All costs are fully funded by donors including The ASCAP Foundation, The Dramatists Guild Fund, and The Noel Coward Foundation. Writers include Tony-winners and nominees Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening), and Heidi Rodewald and Stew (Passing Strange), and multi-award winners Adam Gwon, Laura Harrington, Joe Iconis, Kait Kerrigan, and Brian Lowdermilk.

The Weston Playhouse Theatre Company announces its sixth annual Artists Retreat, hosting seven collaborating artists for a week's work in Vermont, capped by a free public event at the Weston Playhouse on Saturday, May 4th from 4:00-6:00.

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) announces 11 awards granted from their National Fund for New Musicals, a major funding program to support NAMT member not-for-profit theatres in their collaborations with writers to create, develop and produce new musicals. Now in its fifth year, the Fund will provide grants totaling $37,000 to 11 organizations across the country.

American Lyric Theater presents the next installment in its popular series, The Living Libretto, at the National Opera Center, tonight, February 6th, 2013. Featuring guest actors from the Broadway and off-Broadway stage, each event is the culminating reading of extensive libretto workshops conducted for new operas currently being written by ALT Resident Artists.

American Lyric Theater presents the next installment in its popular series, The Living Libretto, at the National Opera Center, Wednesday February 6th, 2013. Featuring guest actors from the Broadway and off-Broadway stage, each event is the culminating reading of extensive libretto workshops conducted for new operas currently being written by ALT Resident Artists.

Kathy Evans, Founder and Executive Director of the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat, announced that applications are open to all musical theatre writers for eight retreats taking place in Summer 2013. Rhinebeck Writers Retreat provides a writing team with a weeklong residency to work on their musical in a private home near Rhinebeck, New York. There will be eight one-week retreats offered between June 22 and August 25th. Applications are due February 28 and the submission fee is $20. The submitted musical can be at any stage of development, as long as it has not been published or licensed. All information, guidelines, and online application can be found at www.rhinebeckwriters.org.

American Lyric Theater (ALT) has been awarded two grants of $15,000 each from OPERA America's THE OPERA FUND for Repertoire Development. Announced earlier today by OPERA America, the grants are for two operas in development at ALT: La Reina by composer Jorge Sosa and librettist Laura Sosa Pedroza; and The Long Walk, by composer Jeremy Howard Beck and librettist Stephanie Fleischmann based on Brian Castner's critically acclaimed book of the same name.

A total of 35 established and emerging writers, composers and lyricists will converge on the Goodspeed campus this month to participate in the first-ever Johnny Mercer Writers Colony at Goodspeed Musicals. The writing teams, representing more than twenty new musicals, will populate the campus, creating a truly exciting environment for discovery and inspiration.