38th Annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS Unveils Creative Teams

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre has announced the directors, music directors and emerging artist participants for the 38th Annual Festival of New Musicals, taking place Thursday, October 22 and Friday, October 23 at New World Stages in New York City.

Directors participating in this year's Festival include Sivan Battat, Shelley Butler, Liz Carlson, Karla Puno Garcia, JuJu Jaworski, Zhailon Levingston, MONET and Alan Muraoka. Music directors include Christie Chiles Twillie, Ben Covello, Jo Ann Daugherty, Andrea Grody, Garret Healey, Sujin Kim-Ramsey, Rona Siddiqui and John Yun.

Now in its 38th year, the industry-focused Festival presents eight new musicals in 45-minute concert presentations over two days. Hundreds of producers, presenters, artistic and executive directors, investors, donors, developers and creative administrators working across theater, music, film and television attend the event.

Casting for the musicals and additional programming details will be announced at a later date.

Black Girl in Paris

Black Girl in Paris features a book and lyrics by AriDy Nox and music by Jacinth Greywoode. Zhailon Levingston will direct, with Cooper Howell as associate director and Christie Chiles Twillie as music director. karl hawkins will serve as directing assistant, Sydney Crutcher as music assistant and Yvanna Tassy as line producer. Elissa Adams and Fred Carl are festival consultants.

Described as "a musical within a folktale within a ritual," the work centers on Sally Hemings as a 14-year-old enslaved Black woman from Virginia who finds herself in Paris as the French Revolution approaches and must determine what she is willing to sacrifice for the possibility of freedom.

Levingston co-directed Broadway's CATS: The Jellicle Ball with Bill Rauch, with the pair receiving the 2026 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. His credits also include Chicken & Biscuits, Wonderful Town, Table 17 and Reconstructing.

BLUDLINE: A Hip-Hop Odyssey

Fermin Suero, Jr. and Pete White have written the book, music and lyrics for BLUDLINE: A Hip-Hop Odyssey. MONET will direct, with John Yun as music director, Amiah McGinty as directing assistant, Miguel Sutedjo as music assistant and Diego V. Cortez as line producer. Nicole LaFountaine and Kathleen Wrinn will serve as festival consultants.

The musical reimagines Homer's epic through live hip-hop and R&B, following Trojan War hero Odysseus as he battles to return home while his son Telemachus attempts to find his own strength in his father's shadow. The project won the 2026 Richard Rodgers Award and previously received a 2025 Rhinebeck Writers Retreat and a $25,000 Pipeline Arts Foundation Grant.

The (Disaster) Marathon of 1904

The (Disaster) Marathon of 1904 features a book by Tyler Joseph Ellis and music and lyrics by Jacob Ryan Smith and Daniel Mertzlufft. JuJu Jaworski will direct, with Garret Healey as music director, Marija Danyluk as directing assistant, Danielle Breitstein as music assistant and Diego V. Cortez as line producer. Brannon Bowers and Braley Degenhardt are festival consultants.

The musical recounts the real-life story of the 1904 Olympic marathon through Pheidippides, the ancient Greek runner associated with the legendary run from Marathon to Athens.

Fouad of Nazareth

Fouad of Nazareth features book, music and lyrics by Fouad Dakwar. Sivan Battat will direct, with Ben Covello as music director, Shana Laski as directing assistant, Kayden Behan as music assistant and Yvanna Tassy as line producer. Joe Barros and Adam Immerwahr will serve as festival consultants.

Based on a true story, the pop-punk dark comedy follows a teenage Palestinian New Yorker confronting his identity at a summer camp in Nazareth. The musical has previously been developed through Berklee NYC, Joe's Pub, Noor Theatre, the Dramatists Guild Foundation, Goodspeed Musicals, Ars Nova and New York Theatre Workshop, among others.

How to Play the Cello (Until You Don't)

Benjamin Emory Larson has written the book, music and lyrics for How to Play the Cello (Until You Don't). Shelley Butler will direct, with Andrea Grody as music director, Kaycee Swierc as directing assistant, Nina Osso as music assistant and Yvanna Tassy as line producer. Anika Chapin and Peter Rothstein are festival consultants.

The one-act musical for one actress is loosely inspired by cellist Jacqueline Du Pré, whose performing career ended in her 30s after she developed multiple sclerosis. The musical was previously presented at Theater Latté Da's 2025 NEXT Festival.

Love of a Lifetime

Love of a Lifetime, featuring book, music and lyrics by Lara Filip, will be directed by Alan Muraoka. Jo Ann Daugherty will serve as music director, with Eliyana Abraham as directing assistant, Lola Cortez as music assistant and Yvanna Tassy as line producer. Alisa Hauser and Tom Morrissey are festival consultants.

The musical is a parody of television holiday movies built around an original story and score, following a woman who finds herself trapped inside one.

The Ramayan

The Ramayan features book, music and lyrics by Manik Choksi. Liz Carlson will direct, with Rona Siddiqui as music supervisor, Serena Saotome Feniger as directing assistant, Felipe Segovia Sanhueza as music assistant and Diego V. Cortez as line producer. Sonia Desai and Tad Fujioka are festival consultants.

Choksi's adaptation of the ancient Indian epic uses the concept-record form to bring The Ramayan into conversation with American mythology. The project has received developmental support from Ars Nova and Clubbed Thumb.

Sunwatcher

Sunwatcher features a book and lyrics by Isabella Dawis, music by Tidtaya Sinutoke and additional music by Dawis. Karla Puno Garcia will direct, with Sujin Kim-Ramsey as music director, Sarah Jane Salonga as directing assistant, Yoshimi Kimura as music assistant and Diego V. Cortez as line producer. Kalina Ko and Alexander Tom will serve as festival consultants.

Inspired by Japanese astronomer Hisako Koyama, the musical follows a young woman in 1944 Tokyo who is determined to become an astronomer and encounters the Japanese sun goddess Amaterasu.

Emerging Artists and Musical Roadtrip

NAMT's Festival Emerging Artists Program has expanded for 2026 to include 16 emerging theater-makers, with each of the eight Festival musicals receiving a directing assistant and music assistant. Diego V. Cortez and Yvanna Tassy will additionally participate as the Festival's Line Producer Residents.

The Festival's Musical Roadtrip program will also return, highlighting new musical theater festivals at NAMT member organizations around the country. This year's participants include TheatreWorks Silicon Valley New Works Festival, The Winter Park Playhouse's Florida Festival of New Musicals, Baldwin Wallace Musical Theatre New Musicals Incubator and CMU Center for New Work.

The Festival of New Musicals has introduced industry members to more than 300 musicals and 600 writers. Past Festival titles include Come From Away, Lempicka, The Drowsy Chaperone, Lizard Boy, Teeth, WANTED, King of Pangea, Benny & Joon, Darling Grenadine, Ordinary Days, It Shoulda Been You and Thoroughly Modern Millie.

The 38th Annual Festival of New Musicals is overseen by NAMT New Works Director Frankie Dailey. Skye Cone Ivey, Joey Monda and Greg Kamp serve as Festival producers, with Michael Cassara, CSA as casting director.

Industry registration is now open through NAMT's Festival website. Free passes are also available to industry members and the general public, with seating available on a first-come, first-served basis after other passholders have entered.